American Society of Anesthesiologists Classification Versus ARISCAT Risk Index: Predicting Pulmonary Complications Following Renal Transplant.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with chronic renal failure are prone to pulmonary complications. Renal transplant recipients should undergo complete preoperative evaluation to determine risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. The American Society of Anesthesiologists classification and the Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia risk index correlate well with incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications. Here, we compared their accuracy in predicting pulmonary complications following renal transplant.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of renal transplant recipients between years 2004 and 2015. We collected patient data on Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia risk index, including demographics, smoking history, comorbidities, preoperative pulmonary risk score, laboratory results, surgery information, history of lower respiratory tract infection 1 month pretransplant, urgency of surgery, American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, and pulmonary complications within 1 month posttransplant.
RESULTS: Of 172 patients (123 males; mean age 38.82 y), 22 (12.8%) developed pulmonary complication during the first month posttransplant, including effusion (9 patients), pneumonia (10 patients), respiratory inefficiency (2 patients), and pulmonary embolism (1 patient). Atelectasis was observed in 95.4% of patients with complications. A positive correlation was observed between age and development of complications (r = 0.171; P = .025). Regarding risk score, 75% of patients at high risk and 19.5% at intermediate risk developed pulmonary complications. Patients with low-risk scores had significantly lower complications than intermediate- and high-risk groups (P < .001). A positive correlation was observed between preoperative risk score and complications (r = 0.34; P < .001). There was no association between the American Society of Anesthesiologists scores and postoperative complications (P = .7).
CONCLUSIONS: The American Society of Anesthesiologists classification was found to be a weaker modality to predict pulmonary complications after renal transplant; as it relates to the general health status, than the Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia risk index.