For healthcare professionals
ARISCAT score calculator
The ARISCAT score (Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia) estimates the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications in adults having surgery. It adds points for four patient factors (age, preoperative oxygen saturation, a respiratory infection in the last month and anaemia) and three surgery factors (incision site, duration and emergency surgery), then places the total in a low, intermediate or high risk class. This calculator is written for clinicians planning perioperative care and is not a diagnosis.
Patient and planned surgery
For adults before surgery. Use the planned incision, expected duration and urgency. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
What you will see
The ARISCAT total, the points for each item, the risk class (low, intermediate or high) and the complication rate reported for that class in the original cohort.
Educational only, not medical advice. Not a decision on whether or how to operate.
Source
Canet J and colleagues, Anesthesiology 2010, derived the ARISCAT score. Because that paper is not open access, the points here are taken from two open-access (CC BY 4.0) papers that reprint the score in full: Yan and colleagues, Trials 2017, and Trautwein and colleagues, PLoS One 2025. Both print the same points and risk classes. The tests check every age and SpO2 band edge, each item, the class cut points of 26 and 45, and the maximum of 123.
Validated in
Adults having surgery. The derivation study, conducted in Europe, enrolled 2,464 patients and recorded postoperative pulmonary complications in 123 of them (5%) (Chikkala 2025, describing Canet 2010).
Limits
The complication rates for each class (1.6%, 13.3% and 42.1%) come from the original Catalan cohort; real rates depend on how complications are defined and on the hospital and type of surgery. In a retrospective study of 501 adults having open laparotomy at one tertiary centre in India, ARISCAT did not separate patients who did and did not develop complications well (area under the curve 0.567) (Chikkala 2025). The score does not include smoking, lung disease, obesity or anaesthetic technique, and it does not replace a full preoperative assessment.
ARISCAT points
Add the points for each item (Yan 2017) (Trautwein 2025).
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Age 50 or under | 0 |
| Age 51 to 80 | 3 |
| Age over 80 | 16 |
| Preoperative SpO2 96% or more | 0 |
| Preoperative SpO2 91 to 95% | 8 |
| Preoperative SpO2 90% or less | 24 |
| Respiratory infection in the last month | 17 |
| Preoperative anaemia (haemoglobin 10 g/dL or less) | 11 |
| Peripheral incision | 0 |
| Upper abdominal incision | 15 |
| Intrathoracic incision | 24 |
| Surgery lasting 2 hours or less | 0 |
| Surgery lasting over 2 to 3 hours | 16 |
| Surgery lasting over 3 hours | 23 |
| Emergency procedure | 8 |
Totals run from 0 to 123. Two notes on the reprints. The 2017 table lists the shortest duration as "2 or less" hours, and the 2025 table as "under 2 h"; this calculator follows the 2017 wording, so exactly 2 hours scores 0. The 2025 table prints the haemoglobin threshold as "10 mg/dl", a unit typo for the 10 g/dL in the 2017 table. The score was first published by Canet and colleagues in 2010 (Canet 2010).
Risk classes
| Risk class | ARISCAT points | Pulmonary complication rate in the original cohort |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Under 26 | 1.6% |
| Intermediate | 26 to 44 | 13.3% |
| High | 45 or more | 42.1% |
Class cut points are printed in both reprints; the rates are from the 2017 table (Yan 2017) (Trautwein 2025). The 2017 trial used a score of 45 or more to enrol high-risk patients (Yan 2017).
Related tools
For heart complication risk before noncardiac surgery, see the Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI), and for functional capacity, the Duke Activity Status Index. Undiagnosed sleep apnoea also matters before anaesthesia: see the STOP-Bang sleep apnea score. For blood clot risk around surgery, see the Caprini score. More scores are listed under calculators for healthcare professionals.
Sources
- Yan T, Liang XQ, Wang T, Li WO, Li HJ, Zhu SN, Wang DX. Prophylactic penehyclidine inhalation for prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications in high-risk patients: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2017;18(1):571. doi:10.1186/s13063-017-2315-7. PMID 29183393. CC BY 4.0. Table 1 (ARISCAT points, risk classes and complication rates). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5706155/
- Trautwein B, Beer M, Blobner M, Jungwirth B, Kagerbauer SM, Götz M. Preventing postoperative pulmonary complications by establishing a machine-learning assisted approach (PEPPERMINT): Study protocol for the creation of a risk prediction model. PLoS One. 2025;20(8):e0329076. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0329076. PMID 40828817. CC BY 4.0. Table 1 (ARISCAT points and risk classes). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12364315/
- Chikkala RKP, Pratyusha AC, Durga P, Patlolla P, Ponduru S, Rajasekhar M, Sanapala V. Validation of the Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia (ARISCAT) Score for Predicting Postoperative Pulmonary Complications After Laparotomy in an Indian Population in the Present Era: A Retrospective Study. Cureus. 2025;17(9):e92743. doi:10.7759/cureus.92743. PMID 41122551. CC BY 4.0. Introduction, Results and Table 1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12535847/
- Canet J, Gallart L, Gomar C, et al. Prediction of postoperative pulmonary complications in a population-based surgical cohort. Anesthesiology. 2010;113(6):1338-1350. doi:10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181fc6e0a. PMID 21045639. Original derivation paper (cited, not quoted). doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181fc6e0a
Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-11-03. Spotted an error? See About.