Author ORCID Identifier
0000 0002 0257 9103
Abstract
Abstract
Background:
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has a global prevalence of about 5% and its first presentation can be acute and fatal. USPSTF recommends one time screening for men aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked. We designed a study to evaluate the effect of resident education on AAA screening ordered in our outpatient primary care clinic.
Methods:
All men aged 65 to 75 years of age attending appointments in the resident run clinic were included in the study. Pre-intervention data was collected retrospectively for 5 weeks which included patient demographics and the rates of appropriate AAA screening and surveillance. This was followed by an educational intervention consisting of weekly teaching sessions in the clinic regarding USPSTF guidelines for AAA screening for 5 weeks. We collected post intervention data for five weeks and analyzed the data using SPSS 19.
Results:
107 and 144 patients were studied in the pre-intervention and the post intervention group respectively. The rates of AAA screening did not increase but rather showed a non-significant decrease in the number of abdominal ultrasounds ordered for eligible patients during a clinic visit (9.8% vs 12.7%). However, among patients who qualified for AAA screening, AAA screening was discussed much more during the office visit post intervention as compared to pre intervention (17.4% vs 3.8%).
Discussion:
Our study shows that resident education might not be enough to drive a significant improvement in AAA screening rates however it did improve the rates of discussion of AAA screening during clinic visits. No prior study has evaluated the effect of sole resident education on AAA screening rates. However, a few studies have reported findings after an electronic health reminder intervention but with varied results.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Saeed H, Liaqat H, Master V, Neupane B. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening and Surveillance – can we do better? A QI Project. Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery. 2024; 4(2). doi: 10.53785/2769-2779.1206.
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Cardiovascular Diseases Commons, Internal Medicine Commons, Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Commons