MASS
Trial question
What is the role of screening males for AAA?
Study design
Multi-center
Open label
RCT
Population
67770 male patients
Inclusion criteria: males aged 65-74 years
Key exclusion criteria: females, age < 65 and > 74 years, terminally ill men, other serious health problems, and previous AAA repair
Interventions
N=33883 ultrasound screening for AAA (invitation to screening program)
N=33887 no ultrasound screening (not routinely offered screening)
Primary outcome
Death related to abdominal aortic aneurysm at 10 years
0.46
0.87
0.9 %
0.7 %
0.4 %
0.2 %
0.0 %
Ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic
aneurysm
No ultrasound
screening
Borderline significant
decrease ▼
Borderline significant decrease in death related to AAA at 10 years (0.46% vs. 0.87%; HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.63)
Secondary outcomes
No significant difference in death at 30 days (4% vs. 6%; RR 0.67, 95% CI -0.42 to 1.76)
Conclusion
In males aged 65-74 years, ultrasound screening for AAA was superior to no ultrasound screening with respect to death related to AAA at 10 years.
Reference
Thompson SG, Ashton HA, Gao L et al. Screening men for abdominal aortic aneurysm: 10 year mortality and cost effectiveness results from the randomised Multicentre Aneurysm Screening Study. BMJ. 2009 Jun 24;338:b2307.
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