Assessment of Aortic Aneurysm Rupture Risk

The rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is associated with a high mortality. When an AAA ruptures, 50% of the patients die before reaching the hospital. Of the patients that are able to reach the operating room, only 50% have it successfully repaired (Fillinger et al, 2003). Therefore, it is important to find good predictors for immediate risk of rupture. Clinically, the size of the aneurysm is the variable vascular surgeons usually use to evaluate this risk. Patients with large aneurysms are often sent to surgery. However, many studies have shown that even small aneurysms can rupture and deserve attention as well. It is important to find good predictors of rupture that also avoid unnecessary surgery as all surgeries are associated with possible complications. Here, we use data obtained from 144 computed tomographies of patients from the Western Pennsylvania Allegheny Health System to predict the high risk of rupture of an aneurysm and also to examine which features are important for this goal.