Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains to be represent a common and highly lethal problem. We reviewed the records of 92 patients (73 men and 19 women) operated on for ruptured infrarenal AAA within the past 10 years (January 1989 to October 1999) in the 2nd Department of Surgery in Brno, Czech Republic. The mean age was 71 years (range 57 to 92 years). Only 10 patients (10.9%) were known to have an AAA before the rupture. Preoperative systolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg was present in 70 patients (76%) and 15 patients (16.3%) experienced cardiac arrest before surgery. The in-hospital mortality rate was 47.8% (44 patients). Among the total of 92 patients, haemoperitoneum was discovered only in 30 patients (32.6%) with the mortality rate of 40% (12 patients). In 62 patients (67.4%) also hemoperitoneum was present, the mortality rate was 51.6% (32 patients) in these patients. Multiorgan failure due to an irreversible hemorrhagic shock was the main cause of death in 23 patients (25%). Further causes were: heart failure--8 patients (8.7%), pulmonary complications--5 patients (5.4%), renal failure--4 patients (4.3%), bleeding--3 patients (3.3%), and sepsis--1 patient (1.1%). The patient's prognosis depends on early diagnostics and on the quality of peroperative and postoperative care. (Tab. 2, Ref. 8.)

2nd Department of Surgery in Brno School of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic