Seasonality in the incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm ruptures: a review of eight years

BACKGROUND: Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA) is a highly mortal entity. In recent years, the role of seasonality has been proposed in the incidence of RAAA. In this study, we sought possible correlations between monthly atmospheric pressures and the number of patients admitted with RAAA. METHODS: Twenty-four patients who were admitted to our Trauma and Emergency Surgery Department with a diagnosis of RAAA from January 1995 to May 2003 were retrospectively evaluated. Data were collected from patient records, admission charts, hospital death certificate registry, and operating-room records. Only patients whose diagnosis of RAAA was confirmed during surgery were included. Atmospheric pressure records of Ýstanbul for individual months covering the study period were obtained from the Meteorology Office. The incidences of RAAA and the mean monthly atmospheric pressures were compared. RESULTS: Most of the patients were admitted in winter months. Admissions culminated in January with six patients, at which time the mean atmospheric pressure was 765.5 mmHg. There were no admissions in May, during which the mean atmospheric pressure was 760.8 mmHg. The distribution of monthly admissions for RAAA was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The mean atmospheric pressures tended to run a higher course before the months in which increased admissions were seen. CONCLUSION: Our findings do not corroborate the presence of a relationship between the incidence of RAAA and the atmospheric pressure.