Patient-Centered Anesthesia Triage System Predicts ASA Physical Status

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Perioperative Medicine
• Health Informatics

Background:

• American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status (PS) classification is a key predictor of perioperative risk.
• Current ASA PS assessment can be cumbersome and is not always available in electronic health records.
• A patient-centered anesthesia triage system (PCATS) using readily available data may offer a more accessible triage method.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the patient-centered anesthesia triage system (PCATS).
• To examine the association and predictive value of PCATS for ASA PS classification.
• To assess PCATS's utility in triaging patients for preoperative assessment.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective enrollment of 300 consecutive surgical patients.
• Data collection included number of prescription medications, body mass index (BMI), and ASA PS classification.
• Surgical complexity was assigned, and PCATS criteria were defined (BMI > 35, age > 80, ≥5 prescriptions, high complexity).
• Statistical analysis included chi-square tests and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Main Results:

• PCATS criteria (BMI, age, surgical complexity, prescriptions) were significantly associated with ASA PS.
• PCATS demonstrated a moderately good predictive value for ASA PS (area under the curve = 0.75).
• PCATS showed high sensitivity (0.88) and specificity (0.74), with excellent utility for case finding.

Conclusions:

• PCATS is a valid and useful predictor of ASA PS classification.
• PCATS can serve as an effective tool for triaging patients to appropriate preoperative assessment venues.
• Implementing PCATS may enhance the presurgical patient experience and optimize clinic staff utilization.