ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM IMAGING

Course overview

ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSMS (AAAS) ARE A RELATIVELY COMMON PATHOLOGY. RUPTURED ANEURYSMS HAVE AN EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH MORTALITY RATE. EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND INTERVENTION IS PARAMOUNT TO REDUCE THE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS EMERGENT VASCULAR CONDITION. HOWEVER, TRADITIONAL PHYSICAL EXAM IS UNRELIABLE IN DETECTING AAAS. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE USE OF POINT OF CARE ULTRASOUND IN DIAGNOSING ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSMS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING AND TREATING PATIENTS WHO HAVE ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSMS.