Can the RCRI Accurately Stratify Patients Before Low Back Surgery?

Preoperative revised cardiac risk index predicts postoperative cardiac complications and death following posterior lumbar decompression.

The Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI; NEJM JW Gen Med Oct 1 1999 and Circulation 1999; 100:1043) predicts postoperative adverse cardiac events after noncardiac surgery; however, its applicability to patients undergoing high-risk spinal surgeries has not been demonstrated. Investigators used data from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (from 2006–2014) to compare RCRI scores and outcomes — 30-day mortality and adverse cardiac events — among 52,000 patients who underwent posterior lumbar decompression (PLD).

Most patients (98%) had RCRIs of 0 or 1. Thirty-day risk for myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac arrest, or death was 0.1% among patients with RCRIs of 0, ≈0.3% among those with RCRIs of 1, and 0.5% to 0.8% among those with …

Reviewing Authors

Dustin Staloch, MD

Daniel D. Dressler, MD, MSc, SFHM, FACP

Disclosures

RoyaltiesMcGraw-Hill; Elsevier

Editorial BoardsMedical Clinics of North America; Caribbean Medical Journal International Advisory Panel (2021–2026)

Daniel D. Dressler, MD, MSc, SFHM, FACP

Disclosures

RoyaltiesMcGraw-Hill; Elsevier

Editorial BoardsMedical Clinics of North America; Caribbean Medical Journal International Advisory Panel (2021–2026)

Can the RCRI Accurately Stratify Patients Before Low Back Surgery?

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Reviewing Authors