Role of risk prediction scores in preoperative assessment of cardiac surgical patients

Preoperative risk prediction scores help to identify high risk patients, guide decision making on cardiac surgical procedures and also optimization before definitive surgery. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons large database-derived scoring system is utilized for this purpose in the United States. The STS risk score is not only useful in predicting mortality but also individual organ dysfunction after cardiac surgical procedures. Similarly, Euro SCORE is utilized in European countries to predict mortality after cardiac surgery. Apart from these two scoring systems, multiple organ specific complication scoring systems are being used to predict morbidity (e.g., atrial fibrillation score). Several frailty scoring systems are available to evaluate the risk of poor outcomes due to age-related decline in overall physiological reserve after surgery. In this article, we describe some of the commonly used risk prediction scores in cardiac surgery with their accuracy and drawbacks.