1. What is Lee's Surgical Risk Index?

The Lee's Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI) predicts the risk of major cardiac complications following non-cardiac surgery. It identifies six independent risk factors that contribute to postoperative cardiac events.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses Lee's Risk Index:

Where each selected risk factor adds 1 point:

• High-risk surgery (intraperitoneal, intrathoracic, or suprainguinal vascular procedures)
• History of ischemic heart disease
• History of congestive heart failure
• History of cerebrovascular disease
• Preoperative treatment with insulin
• Preoperative serum creatinine >2.0 mg/dL

Risk Classification:

• Class I (0 points): 0.4% risk
• Class II (1 point): 0.9% risk
• Class III (2 points): 6.6% risk
• Class IV (≥3 points): 11.0% risk

3. Importance of Surgical Risk Assessment

Details: Preoperative risk stratification helps identify patients who may benefit from additional cardiac evaluation or perioperative management strategies to reduce cardiac complications.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Check all risk factors that apply to the patient. The calculator will sum the points and provide the corresponding risk class and percentage.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What constitutes high-risk surgery?
A: Intraperitoneal, intrathoracic, or suprainguinal vascular procedures are considered high-risk.

Q2: How accurate is the Lee's Index?
A: It has moderate discriminative ability (c-statistic ~0.75) and is widely validated for non-cardiac surgery.

Q3: What are considered major cardiac complications?
A: Myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, pulmonary edema, or complete heart block.

Q4: Are there limitations to this index?
A: It may underestimate risk in very high-risk patients and overestimate in low-risk populations.

Q5: Should this replace clinical judgment?
A: No, it should be used as an adjunct to comprehensive clinical evaluation.