Inflammatory Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms and Atherosclerotic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

A total of 274 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms due to atherosclerosis (AAA) and 16 patients with inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysms (IAAA) were reviewed to compare and contrast the clinical characteristics of the 2 groups. The AAA group comprised 243 men and 31 women with a mean age of 69.2 +/- 0.4 (range 51-86) years. The IAAA group comprised 15 men and 1 woman with a mean age of 67.4 +/- 2.0 (range 53-81) years. Most patients with IAAA (12/16; 75.0%) had pain at presentation, whereas only 37 out of 274 patients (13.5%) with AAA had pain (p < 0.001). Fifty out of 274 patients (18.2%) with AAA were asymptomatic, the most common principal complaint being a pulsatile tumor, which was found in 150 out of 274 patients (54.7%; p < 0.005 vs IAAA). Regarding laboratory findings of inflammation, preoperative erythrocyte sedimentation rate values were elevated in 15 out of 16 (93.8%) patients, and C-reactive protein values were elevated in 13 out of 16 (81.3%) patients with IAAA. The incidence of perioperative complications was similar in the 2 groups. The 30-day postoperative mortality among AAA patients was 6.2% (17/274 cases), including 12 cases of non-ruptured and 5 cases of ruptured AAA; in contrast, no early deaths occurred among patients with IAAA. The cumulative 5-year survival rate was 80.2% for IAAA patients and 74.6% for AAA patients (NS). The results of our review suggest that careful diagnosis and intra- and postoperative management could lead to patients with IAAA having a similar survival rate to those with AAA.