The effectiveness of the ariscat risk score in predicting the development of postoperative pulmonary complications in major urological surgeries

Aim: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC's) are common problems relating to anesthesia and surgery, affecting morbidity and mortality. Many scoring systems have been developed to predict the risk of developing PPCs. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia (ARISCAT) index are two of these scorings. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the ARISCAT index in predicting the development of PPC in urological major surgeries. Material and Methods: 140 patients who aged 18-85, ASA I-IV, underwent elective major urological surgery were included in this study. Patients demographic information, preoperative pulmonary risk scores (ARISCAT), ASA scores, surgical procedure, comorbidities, postoperative hospital stay, and PPCs developed during discharge were recorded. Results: Postoperative pulmonary complications developed in 24 of 140 patients (17.1%) who underwent major urological surgery. According to the data, a statistically significant correlation was found between a body mass index of 25 and above, the amount of fluid given intraoperatively, the duration of the operation, the ASA and ARISCAT scores, with the development of PPC (p<0.05). The postoperative hospital stay was longer in the group of patients who developed PPC. There was no significant relationship between gender, age, presence of additional disease, smoking, epidural analgesia, blood product use with PPC (p>0.05). Conclusions: It was concluded that ARISCAT risk scoring is an easy to apply, repeatable, cost-effective and effective tool in predicting the development of PPC in urological major surgeries. ARISCAT score was found to be a stronger modality than the ASA score in predicting the development of PPC. After identifying high risk patients, it was thought that morbidity and mortality could be reduced by the effective implementation of preventive strategies. Key Words: ASA score, ARISCAT