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. 2019;15(2):211-217.
doi: 10.5114/aic.2019.86014. Epub 2019 Jun 26.

Can the Vulnerable Elders-13 Survey (VES-13) scale replace the EuroSCORE scale in predicting complications in patients over 60 years of age undergoing cardiac surgery?

Anetta Kowalczuk-Wieteska  1 , Monika Parys  1 , Iwona Majchrzyk  1 , Michał Zembala  1 , Marian Zembala  1
Affiliations

Can the Vulnerable Elders-13 Survey (VES-13) scale replace the EuroSCORE scale in predicting complications in patients over 60 years of age undergoing cardiac surgery?

Anetta Kowalczuk-Wieteska et al. Postepy Kardiol Interwencyjnej. 2019.

Abstract

Introduction: Before the operation each cardiosurgery geriatric patient is assessed by the Vulnerable Elders-13 Survey (VES-13) and European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) scales.

Aim: To compare the applicability of the VES-13 and EuroSCORE scale in the assessment of postoperative risk among operated patients > 60 years old qualified most often for coronary artery bypass grafting.

Material and methods: VES-13 is a questionnaire containing 13 questions, including patient's age and a health self-assessment. The EuroSCORE includes age, sex and cardiological assessment and vascular changes, respiratory diseases, neurological and nephrological disorders. In both scales the risk of death is high when the patient has > 6 points. The study included 100 patients ≥ 60 (60.83 ±6.18) years old who were divided into subgroups with < 6 points and ≥ 6 points.

Results: The number of VES-13 points = 3.06 ±2.25, EuroSCORE = 5.50 ±3.19. In patients > 75 years old VES score was 4.32 ±2.6 vs. 2.707 ±2.02 and EuroSCORE 8.09 ±3.02 vs. 4.77 ±2.83. The most frequent postoperative complication was atrial fibrillation. The most frequent complications were the following: death (5%), delirium (3.64%), bleeding (3.54%), stroke (3.54%), renal failure (3.32%), pacemaker implantation (3.28%), difficult healing of the wound (2.64%), intestinal ischemia (2.56%). The correlation between the VES-13 and EuroSCORE was moderate.

Conclusions: In cardiosurgery patients who obtained before the operation ≥ 6 points on the VES-13 or EuroSCORE the risk of postoperative complications is high. VES-13 and EuroSCORE cannot be used interchangeably because the correlation is at a medium level.

Keywords: European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation; Vulnerable Elders-13 Survey scale; elderly patients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spearman’s rank correlation between EuroSCORE and VES-13
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