Index, to provide a quantitative estimate of the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs).
The ARISCAT index is derived from clinical risk factors: (1) age, (2) preoperative oxygen saturation, (3) respiratory infection in the prior month, (4) anemia, (5) surgical site, (6) duration of surgery, and (7) emergency surgery, with varying weights based on the strength of the association in a multivariable analysis.
This score can be calculated via addition of these weighted risk factors, with a score > 45 equal to high risk for PPC.