Modified Aldrete Score

CRNA Study Suite · PACU Discharge Criteria
All Calculators Aldrete
Score Each Category (0-2 pts, max 10)
Aldrete Score
--
of 10
Discharge Criteria
• Score ≥ 9 required for discharge from PACU
• Plus stable vitals, controlled pain, no active nausea/vomiting
• Phase II (ambulatory): additionally must tolerate PO, void, and have adult escort
References

Aldrete, J. A. (1995). The post-anesthesia recovery score revisited. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 7(1), 89-91. (Original modified Aldrete publication; standard PACU discharge tool cited throughout CRNA literature.)

How this works

The five categories

The Aldrete score evaluates PACU recovery readiness across five categories, each scored 0 to 2 for a maximum of 10: Activity, Respiration, Circulation, Neurologic status or consciousness, and Oxygen saturation (Odom-Forren & Brady, 2023, pp. 1274, 1291). It is the most widely used PACU scoring system, though ASPAN does not mandate any single tool.

Discharge threshold

A score of 9 or greater out of 10 is generally required for phase I PACU discharge readiness (Chang & Horvath, 2025, p. 2503; Fowler & Howell, 2024, p. 4558). Because the score does not assess pain or nausea, a patient can score a perfect 10 and still not be appropriate for discharge, so most facilities pair it with separate pain and PONV criteria (Odom-Forren & Brady, 2023, p. 1274).

References

Odom-Forren, J., & Brady, J. M. (2023). Postanesthesia recovery. In Elisha, Heiner, & Nagelhout (Eds.), Nurse anesthesia (7th ed., pp. 1272-1292). Elsevier.