Co-DETECT study on Covid era AAA duplexes, by Kamran Modaresi.

Study relates to the 1st wave of COVID

26 March 2020 to 25 March 2021

Question: How do we decide which AAA patient is ‘urgent’?

Intresting info on the Northwick partk surveillance protocol

Males at over 45 mm are scanned 6 monthly, women too

but men referred at 53mm and women at 48 mm to vascular.

Post ops during 1st wave:

80 were highlighted as urgent (awaiting first post op scan, known type 2s, something else)

Hardly any would come in

Surveillance group

Considered urgent?

130

Only 39 wnted to come in

17 deaths; one rupture death in these (although 5 deaths had moved out of area so cause not known)

“Are we scanning too much?”

Q: does scanning people who are already at threshold but dithering offer false reassurance?

Answer was unfortunately a complete non sequiter