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Emergency Medicine & Critical CareCaprini Score

Caprini Score Calculator for Surgical VTE Risk

Calculate the 2005 Caprini surgical/perioperative VTE risk score from explicit patient and procedure factors, with complete point audit and separate source category frameworks.

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Formula and medical content are based on the references listed on this page. See sources, About, and Sources and Review Process.

Caprini 2005 assessment

Complete every applicable field from the same surgical/perioperative assessment. This is not a checkbox wall: every source state must be explicit.

Age and body size

0–40 = 0; 41–60 = +1; 61–74 = +2; ≥75 = +3. [1]

The 2005 criterion is strictly BMI >25 kg/m². Exactly 25 scores 0. [1]

Procedure and mobility

Choose one source category; do not stack mutually exclusive procedure rows. [1]

Choose one mobility state; do not stack the bed-rest rows. [1]

1-point history and current factors

Each Present answer contributes 1 point.

Do not count the currently selected procedure a second time unless a separate prior qualifying surgery occurred. [1]

Use visible or currently documented varicose veins. [1]

History of inflammatory bowel disease as listed in the 2005 model. [1]

Current swollen legs, not remote swelling alone. [1]

Use the current acute condition. [1]

Use the source one-month window. [1]

Use the source one-month window. [1]

Use the source one-month window. [1]

Use documented abnormal pulmonary function, including COPD. [1]

Select Present only when another 1-point risk factor is documented on the source 2005 assessment record. [1]

Historical female-specific source section

This applicability control preserves the original model section without inferring sex, gender, pregnancy, or medication history. If it does not apply, the child items remain blank and score zero as not applicable. [1]

2-point factors

Each Present answer contributes 2 points.

The 2005 item includes present or previous malignancy. [1]

Use the source one-month window. [1]

Current central venous access. [1]

Prior VTE, family history, and thrombophilia

Each independent Present answer contributes 3 points; coexisting documented factors may all count.

Personal history of deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. [1]

This is independent of personal DVT/PE history. [1]

Known positive factor V Leiden. [1]

Known positive prothrombin 20210A mutation. [1]

Known elevated serum homocysteine. [1]

Known positive lupus anticoagulant. [1]

Known elevated anticardiolipin antibodies. [1]

History of HIT as a separate source item. [1]

Other known congenital or acquired thrombophilia. Do not infer it from family history alone. [1]

5-point recent events

Each Present answer contributes 5 points.

Use the source one-month window. [1]

Use the source one-month window. [1]

Use the source one-month window. [1]

Both the acute injury and paralysis belong to this source item. [1]

Caprini Score

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ACCP 2012 surgical category

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Complete the explicit 2005 source fields and calculate to see the total, both separately labeled category layers, and the full point audit.

About

This Caprini Score Calculator reproduces the 2005 surgical/perioperative VTE risk-assessment model. It uses direct age and BMI entries, mutually exclusive procedure and mobility choices, and explicit Present/Absent answers; an unanswered item never becomes zero silently. [1, 2]

This page calculates only the 2005 revision. It does not run the 1991, 2010, 2013, modified, or specialty-specific versions, whose factors and thresholds are not interchangeable. [1, 6, 7]

Formula

Caprini 2005 score = sum of all applicable, explicitly answered source items
BMI criterion: BMI >25 kg/m² = +1; exactly 25 = 0
No maximum is imposed: multiple independent risk factors can coexist

Interpretation

TotalCaprini 2005 categoryACCP 2012 general / abdominal-pelvic surgery category
0Low (0–1)Very low
1LowLow (1–2)
2ModerateLow
3–4HighModerate
≥5HighestHigh

These are two separately labeled source frameworks. A score of 4 is High in the Caprini 2005 layer and Moderate in the ACCP 2012 general/abdominal-pelvic-surgery layer. Do not average or merge them. [1, 3]

A 2022 systematic review found substantial variation in category count, cutoffs, outcome definitions, populations, and follow-up across 57 studies. A category is not a universal patient probability. [7]

Current surgical guidance remains procedure- and bleeding-context specific

ASH 2019 recommendations differ by surgical procedure and require separate consideration of VTE and bleeding risk. This score does not assess bleeding, contraindications, procedure-specific guidance, changing postoperative factors, or a local protocol, and it selects no prophylaxis, medicine, dose, route, or duration. [5]

A 2017 meta-analysis reported a chemoprophylaxis benefit signal among surgical patients with Caprini scores ≥7, but this population-level finding is not a treatment command and does not override bleeding risk or specialty-specific guidance. [4, 5]

Version boundary

The 2005, 2010, and 2013 records are distinct. Later revisions changed completion guidance and some factor definitions or weights. This calculator never silently converts a 2005 total into another version. [1, 2, 6]

References

  1. Caprini JA. Thrombosis risk assessment as a guide to quality patient care. Dis Mon. 2005;51(2-3):70–78. PMID 15900257. DOI 10.1016/j.disamonth.2005.02.003.
  2. Bahl V, Hu HM, Henke PK, et al. A validation study of a retrospective venous thromboembolism risk scoring method. Ann Surg. 2010;251(2):344–350. PMID 19779324. DOI 10.1097/SLA.0b013e3181b7fca6.
  3. Gould MK, Garcia DA, Wren SM, et al. Prevention of VTE in nonorthopedic surgical patients: Antithrombotic Therapy and Prevention of Thrombosis, 9th ed. Chest. 2012;141(2 Suppl):e227S–e277S. PMID 22315263. PMCID PMC3278061. DOI 10.1378/chest.11-2297.
  4. Pannucci CJ, Swistun L, MacDonald JK, Henke PK, Brooke BS. Individualized venous thromboembolism risk stratification using the 2005 Caprini score to identify the benefits and harms of chemoprophylaxis in surgical patients: a meta-analysis. Ann Surg. 2017;265(6):1094–1103. PMID 28106607. DOI 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002126.
  5. Anderson DR, Morgano GP, Bennett C, et al. American Society of Hematology 2019 guidelines for management of venous thromboembolism: prevention of venous thromboembolism in surgical hospitalized patients. Blood Adv. 2019;3(23):3898–3944. PMID 31794602. PMCID PMC6963238. DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000975.
  6. Cronin M, Dengler N, Krauss ES, et al. Completion of the Updated Caprini Risk Assessment Model (2013 Version). Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2019;25:1076029619838052. PMID 30939900. PMCID PMC6714938. DOI 10.1177/1076029619838052.
  7. Hayssen H, Cires-Drouet R, Englum B, et al. Systematic review of venous thromboembolism risk categories derived from Caprini score. J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord. 2022;10(6):1401–1409.e7. PMID 35926802. PMCID PMC9783939. DOI 10.1016/j.jvsv.2022.05.003.

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Disclaimer

Educational and informational reference only. Not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or independent verification.