Postoperative mortality remains alarmingly high with a mortality rate ranging between 0.4% and 4%. A small subgroup of multimorbid and/or elderly patients undergoing different surgical procedures naturally confers the highest risk of complications and perioperative death. Therefore, preoperative assessment should identify these high-risk patients and stratify them to individualized monitoring and treatment throughout all phases of perioperative care. A "tailored" perioperative approach might help further reduce perioperative morbidity and mortality. This article aims to elucidate individual morbidity-specific risks. It further suggests approaches to detect patients at the risk of perioperative complications.
Keywords: biomarkers; perioperative risk; postoperative mortality; preoperative risk assessment; risk score.
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