Liver cirrhosis: Still an elusive risk factor in the current EuroSCORE system.

Although patients with liver cirrhosis represent only a small proportion of cardiac surgical cases, the poor outcomes are particularly relevant in patients with advanced stages of the disease. Our study results show that Child class A patients show outcomes similar to those of patients without liver disease whereas Child class C patients appear to be nearly inoperable, i.e. can only be operated on with exceptional risks. Including these patients in the EuroSCORE II calculation would thus represent an improvement in preoperative mortality risk assessment.