A surgical risk calculator can accurately predict patient outcomes, according to a study in Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
The American College of Surgeons studied clinical data from 393 ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program hospitals and more than 1.4 million patients to develop a web-based universal Surgical Risk Calculator. The calculator estimates outcomes for more than 1,500 unique surgical procedures across multiple specialties based on 21 preoperative factors related to demographics, comorbidities and the procedure.
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The tool also includes a Surgeon Adjustment Score, which allows surgeons to adjust the risk based on their experience and evaluation of the patient, according to an ACS news release.
In tests, the calculator had excellent predictive performance for mortality, morbidity and six other postoperative complications, according to the study: pneumonia, heart problems, surgical site infection, urinary tract infection, blood clot and kidney failure. The calculator also estimates length of stay. In addition, the universal calculator's predictions were as robust as predictions of previous, procedure-specific risk calculators from ACS, according to the study.
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