Dakik et al reported a simple risk score for evaluating a patient prior to noncardiac surgery. This can help to identify a patient who may require a more complete cardiac assessment. The authors are from the American University of Beirut.
Patient selection: preoperative assessment for noncardiac surgery
Parameters:
(1) history of heart disease (H)
(2) symptoms of heart disease (H), such as angina or dyspnea
(3) age in years (A)
(4) anemia (A), defined as hemoglobin < 12 g/dL
(5) vascular surgery (S)
(6) emergency surgery (S)
Parameter
Finding
Points
history of heart disease
no
0
yes
1
symptoms of heart disease
no
0
yes
1
age in years
< 75 years
0
>= 75 years
1
hemoglobin
>= 12 g/dL
0
< 12 g/dL
1
vascular surgery
no
0
yes
1
emergency surgery
no
0
yes
1
total score =
= SUM(points for all 6 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 6
• The higher the score the greater the risk.
• A patient requiring emergency surgery has no time for any further assessment.
Score
Risk Group
0 or 1
low
2 or 3
intermediate
4 to 6
high
Performance:
• The performance varies with the type of surgery, with the area under the ROC curve ranging from 0.79 to 0.83.
To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.
