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AAA...be afraid, be very afraid
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is known as the great masquerader in the elderly for good reason....
- May look EXACTLY like a kidney stone
- May cause vague abdominal and/or back pain....probably one of the reasons we scan older folks with abdominal pain. Presentations of AAA in the older patient may not be impressive!
- May be associated with the "blue toe syndrome" (where mural thrombus flips distally and occludes small vessels in the feet and toes)
- A pulsatile mass is frequently absent
- 10% of urology referrals for older (>65) patients with suspected kidney stones result in a diagnosis of AAA