Postoperative Pulmonary Risk (ARISCAT)
Estimate risk of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) using the ARISCAT score. Stratify patients into low, intermediate, and high risk before elective surgery to guide prehabilitation and monitoring.
Based on: ESA 2017 · ERS-ESTS
Input
For patients with known respiratory disease, consider pairing this score with oxygenation and ABG assessment.
Overview
The ARISCAT (ARsenal of Independent predictors of Severity of Complications AfTer non-cardiac surgery) score is a validated multifactorial scoring system for estimating postoperative pulmonary complication (PPC) risk after non-cardiac surgery. Seven independent risk factors — age, preoperative SpO2, recent respiratory infection, preoperative anaemia, surgical site, duration, and urgency — are combined to stratify PPC risk into low (1.6%), intermediate (13.3%), and high (42.1%) categories.
Evidence Summary
ARISCAT was derived and validated in a Spanish multicentre prospective cohort (Canet et al., Anesthesiology 2010). External validity was confirmed in European clinical practice data in the 2015 EUCOS study. ARISCAT predictors inform preoperative optimisation, anaesthetic technique selection, and postoperative intensive care planning. A systematic review in Lancet Respiratory Medicine (2020) confirmed that preoperative respiratory physiotherapy interventions significantly reduce PPCs in high-risk patients.