POSSUM Score
POSSUM stands for Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and Morbidity. The POSSUM approach to measuring risk in surgery has been applied to a number of surgical specialties.
It is based on 12 physiological and 6 operative variables. It is a useful tool for surgeons – more objective than the ASA Score, but not as complex as the APACHE II Score.
A calculator for the POSSUM score is available from the Vascular Anaesthesia Society of Great Britain & Ireland.
Reference
Copeland GP, Jones D, Walters M. POSSUM: a scoring system for surgical audit. Br J Surg 1991; 78: 366-60.
