The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator: development and validation of a tool for identifying African surgical patients at risk of severe postoperative complications (17 September 2018)

Summary

The African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) showed that surgical patients in Africa have a mortality rate twice the global average. Existing risk assessment tools are not valid for use in this population because the pattern of risk for poor outcomes differs from high-income countries. This aim of this study in The British Journal of Anaesthesia was to derive and validate a simple, preoperative risk stratification tool to identify African surgical patients at risk for in-hospital postoperative mortality and severe complications.

ASOS was a 7-day prospective cohort study of adult patients undergoing surgery in Africa. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator was developed using data from 8799 patients in 168 African hospitals. It includes the following risk factors: age, ASA physical status, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery.

The authors concluded that the ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator could be used to identify high-risk surgical patients in African hospitals and facilitate increased postoperative surveillance.

Content

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