ARISCAT is a widely used preoperative assessment tool that predicts the overall risk of postoperative pulmonary complications following surgery requiring general, neuraxial, or regional anesthesia. Numerous validation studies have demonstrated efficacy in risk stratification prior to general and abdominal surgery. However, caution is warranted when using ARISCAT alone due to recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses that noted minor calibration shifts in these validation studies. The score has limited utility in cardiothoracic surgical settings but adding other clinical variables, such as albumin and ASA status, may improve risk stratification.
Vikram Eswar (2026) studied this question.