Medical image of the week: massive abdominal aortic aneurysm

• Main Author: Larson M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arizona Thoracic Society 2016-07-01
• Series: Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care
• Subjects: aortic aneurysm; aneurysm; abominal aortic aneurysm; CT scan; CT angiogram; operative mortality; flank; back; pain; diagnosis
• Online Access: http://www.swjpcc.com/imaging/2016/7/6/medical-image-of-the-week-massive-abdominal-aortic-aneurysm.html

No abstract available. Article truncated at 150 words. An 88 year-old presented to the emergency department with left flank and lower back pain as well as lower abdominal fullness. The fullness had started 2 days prior, but the left flank pain acutely started in the early morning before presenting. He had a history of unmedicated hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and mild vertigo. His review of systems was positive for chills and difficulty urinating but no hematuria. He was a non-smoker, and had undergone orthopedic surgeries but had otherwise avoided emergent hospitalizations. On exam, vitals were unremarkable; there was no flank nor costovertebral angle tenderness; however, a midline pulsatile mass was present. An initial non-contrast CT abdomen/pelvis revealed a massive abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA, Figure 1). Follow-up CT angiogram of the AAA can be seen in Figure 2. Upon further questioning, he had undergone a research study some 30 years earlier involving ultrasound to screen for AAA and was told he ...