title: Performance of the original EuroSCORE.
abstract: The European system for cardiac operative risk evaluation (EuroSCORE) is a commonly used risk score for operative mortality following cardiac surgery. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of the performance of the additive and logistic EuroSCORE. A literature search resulted in 67 articles. Studies applying the EuroSCORE on patients undergoing cardiac surgery and which reported early mortality were included. Weighted meta-regression showed that the EuroSCORE overestimated mortality. However, this performance depended on the risk profile of patients: in high-risk patients, the additive model actually underestimated mortality. Discriminative performance was good. Given the poor predictive performance, the EuroSCORE may not be suitable as a tool for patient selection nor for benchmarking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Heart and Lungs Division, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. s.siregar@umcutrecht.nl
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siregar
authors.forename: Rolf H H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Groenwold
authors.forename: Frederiek
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Heer
authors.forename: Michiel L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bots
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: van der Graaf
authors.forename: Lex A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: van Herwerden
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome