Postoperative respiratory complications in children: from prediction to clinical action

The score for prediction of postoperative respiratory complications in infants and children (SPORC-C) was recently reported. The score was developed using a large cohort of patients by applying a multivariate model, then internally and externally validated on a different cohort of patients. In order to encourage use of this score, an online calculator (https://sites.google.com/view/sporc-for-children/home) was also developed, allowing identification of patients at low and high risk for postoperative respiratory complications. We review current evidence on algorithms developed to predict postoperative respiratory complications, including how and when such scoring systems should be used in daily practice to improve the overall safety of paediatric patients.