Risk index for predicting perioperative stroke, myocardial infarction, or death risk in asymptomatic patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy

Objective The latest guidelines recommend performance of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) on asymptomatic patients with high-grade carotid stenosis, only if the combined perioperative stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), or death risk is ≤3%. Our objective was to develop and validate a risk index to estimate the combined risk of perioperative stroke, MI, or death in asymptomatic patients undergoing elective CEA. Methods Asymptomatic patients who underwent an elective CEA (n = 17,692) were identified from the 2005-2010 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, a multicenter, prospective database. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed with primary outcome of interest being the composite of any stroke, MI, or death during the 30-day periprocedural period. Bootstrapping was used for internal validation. A risk index was created by assigning weighted points to each predictor using the β-coefficients from the regression analysis. Results Fifty-eight percent of the patients were men with a median age of 72 years. Thirty-day incidences of stroke, MI, and death were 0.9% (n = 167), 0.6% (n = 108), and 0.4% (n = 72), respectively. The combined 30-day stroke, MI, or death incidence was 1.8% (n = 324). On multivariable analysis, six independent predictors were identified and a risk index created by assigning weighted points to each predictor using the β-coefficients from the regression analysis. The predictors included age in years (