EuroSCORE predicts long-term mortality of unselected patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions

BACKGROUND: The European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) is a simple risk model able to predict early and late mortality after cardiac surgery. Recent data suggest that this score may also predict early clinical outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Data regarding EuroSCORE usefulness to predict late outcome after PCI in unselected patients are lacking. METHODS: EuroSCORE was prospectively assessed in consecutive patients undergoing PCI during 18 months. The primary end-point was cardiac mortality during the follow-up after PCI. Total mortality was the secondary end-point. Kaplan-Meyer analyses were performed dividing the study population in three subgroups according to the additive EuroSCORE algorithm (low risk group: EuroSCORE 0-2; medium risk group: EuroSCORE 3-5; high-risk group: EuroSCORE ≥ 6). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve and landmark analysis on cardiac mortality after 30 days were performed. RESULTS: The study population comprised 1170 patients undergoing PCI. Mean follow-up duration was 633 days (range: 365-1000 days). Cardiac mortality was 2%; 2.4%; 13.2% in patients with low, medium and high EuroSCORE respectively. Kaplan-Meyer survival curves for cardiac death differed significantly between EuroSCORE groups (p<0.0001). The area under the ROC curve for the prediction of cardiac death was 0.77. Similar results were obtained for total mortality. At landmark analysis starting 30 days after PCI, EuroSCORE groups were significantly associated with different survival in the long term (P=0.014). CONCLUSION: EuroSCORE risk model can be efficiently utilized to predict late mortality in consecutive, unselected, patients undergoing PCI.