Government Grand Rounds: The role of stakeholders in legislative and administrative engagement

Stakeholder organizations such as the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) play a crucial role in shaping healthcare policies and ensuring that the voices of medical professionals are heard in the legislative and administrative processes. These organizations utilize several key methods…
Engaging with primary care providers ‘critically important’ to improving AAA screening

Matthew Mell, MD, has spent a lot of time looking into issues around screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). The problem, says the chief of vascular surgery at University of California Davis in Sacramento, California, is a difficult one to…
Prediabetes screening: ‘Target of reducing disparities should be geared towards advocacy’

On Aug. 24, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published the newly updated recommendations regarding screening for prediabetes and type-2 diabetes mellitus.1,2 The recommendation has been graded B, which translates to at least fair evidence to suggest that…
USPSTF reaffirms 2014 recommendation against screening for asymptomatic carotid stenosis

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recommended against screening for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the general adult population—a reaffirmation of the 2014 D recommendation. The USPSTF statement came in a recommendation statement recently published in the…
Study of patients undergoing AAA repair suggests screening guidelines may be inadequate

A retrospective study analyzing approximately 55,000 patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair suggests current screening guidelines may be inadequate in detecting a significant number of new cases. Additionally, expanding screening for certain population segments may be warranted. The study…
Family history risk of AAA ‘increases incrementally’ based on degree of relation

There is an incremental increase in the risk of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) among those with a family history of the disorder based on degree of relation—with a significantly higher risk found in patients with a first-degree relative diagnosed…
Updated USPSTF recommendations on screening for AAAs remain faithful to 2014 guidance, adding new material to body of evidence

Updated recommendations on screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) remain consistent with the 2014 guidance while incorporating new evidence. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation statement, published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, was…
Latest edition of USPSTF guidance produces essential reiteration, continuing to leave many patients at risk

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently released an update to their 2014 abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening recommendations. The update is essentially a reiteration. They recommend a one-time screening with ultrasonography in asymptomatic men aged 65 to…

