What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the feasibility and practical applicability of the POSSUM scoring system for comparative audit in routine surgical practice.

December 1, 2001Journal of the Royal Society of MedicineOpen Access

Comparative Audit: The Trouble with Possum

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Why the study?

Is the POSSUM scoring system feasible for comparative audit in surgical patients?

Key Points

To evaluate the feasibility and practical applicability of the POSSUM scoring system for comparative audit in routine surgical practice.
Assessed POSSUM scoring on admission for all patients treated by two consultant surgeons over a six-month period (N=815 discharges; 521 operative cases).
Calculated POSSUM scores only when all required parameters were collected as part of normal clinical care, avoiding unnecessary testing.
Complete POSSUM scores could be allocated in only 155 of the 521 operative cases (30%).
All non-operative admissions and 70% of surgical cases were excluded from risk-adjusted evaluation due to missing required investigations.

Structured PICO

Is the POSSUM scoring system feasible for comparative audit in surgical patients?

Population

815 patient discharges under the care of two consultant surgeons over a six-month period, including 521 undergoing operative procedures.

Intervention

POSSUM scoring attempted on admission

Outcome

Feasibility of POSSUM scoring (proportion of patients who could be allocated a score)

The POSSUM scoring system is unlikely to be useful for comparative audit because it requires additional investigations not necessary for effective treatment, leading to low scoring completion rates.

Discussion

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Implication

Low completion rates limit POSSUM for routine surgical audit; leaves open whether protocolized data collection could improve feasibility in future studies.

Cite This Study

Bann et al. (2001) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a728474fe4101aa97e0dec6 https://doi.org/10.1177/014107680109401207

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Implication

Low completion rates limit POSSUM for routine surgical audit; leaves open whether protocolized data collection could improve feasibility in future studies.

Comparative Audit: The Trouble with Possum

Key Points

Structured PICO

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Comparative Audit: The Trouble with Possum

Key Points

Structured PICO

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider