[Misleading study in The Lancet on the outcome of the Swedish AAA screening program].

In a recent publication in The Lancet Johansson and colleagues claim no effect on aneurysm mortality among men participating in the Swedish AAA screening program, and question its justification. The study is, however, limited by a corrupt study design and incorrect data, making the publication misleading. On the contrary, several RCTs and contemporary nationwide data with sufficient follow-up clearly show that AAA screening saves lives and is highly cost-effective.

Percutaneous closure of large femoral artery access with Prostar XL in thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Objectives: To investigate the technical success rate of Prostar XL for closure of large (≥20F) femoral vascular access sites in thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) procedures.

Methods: This was a single-center consecutive case series. All TEVAR procedures at Uppsala University Hospital 2006-2010 were registered prospectively.

Early inflammatory response in patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Multiorgan failure is the main cause of death in patients operated for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA). The systemic inflammatory response plays a central role in the generation and maintenance of multiorgan dysfunction. The aim of the current study was to investigate the inflammatory response preoperatively in patients with ruptured and nonruptured AAA in relation to the clinical outcome.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm and the impact of infectious burden.

Objectives: Little is known about the biological processes causing aortic aneurysm rupture. Chronic Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection has been suggested as a possible contributing factor to the development and expansion of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The importance of infection in AAA may be related to the previous pathogen burden, that is, the number of significant titres of antibodies against infectious pathogens rather than to single infectious agents.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm and cytomegalovirus infection.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Abdominal aortic aneurysm is regarded traditionally as a consequence of atherosclerosis. Several microorganisms have been suggested as possible contributing factors for the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm.