Aortic aneurysm test gets the thumbs-up
A team from the US has demonstrated its positive predictive value
A patient with a positive result on the old-school thumb–palm test is highly likely to have an ascending aortic aneurysm, US researchers have confirmed.
A team from Yale University, in Connecticut, has become the first to verify the utility of the test in a clinical setting.
For the past two decades, cardiothoracic surgeon Professor John Elefteriades and colleagues have used the test on their own patients and taught it to medical students.
A positive result — when the patient’s thumb extends beyond