Validity of P-POSSUM in adult cancer surgery (PACS)

Objective prediction of postoperative morbidity and mortality can help clinicians for appropriate resource allocation and counseling of patients and their kin. Among different scoring systems, "Portsmouth- Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity" (P-POSSUM) includes both preoperative and intraoperative parameters for postoperative risk prediction. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of morbidity prediction by P-POSSUM in patients requiring intensive care after undergoing major surgeries for gastrointestinal and gynecological malignancies.

All adult patients (>18 years) undergoing gastrointestinal and gynecological cancer surgeries who were shifted to intensive care unit (ICU) or high dependency unit (HDU) for postoperative care were included and P-POSSUM was measured. Postoperative complications were graded as per Clavien-Dindo (CD) grading and have been compared with predicted complications as per P-POSSUM.

143 patients were included in the study and the median P-POSSUM score was 35. The mean predicted morbidity was 55.28% (SD 25.54%) and the observed complications were 45.45%, which shows P- POSSUM has over predicted morbidity. At P-POSSUM values 60 and above, the incidence of major complications was 22.22%, compared to 6.25% for the rest (Odds ratio 4.286).

P-POSSUM is not a reliable predictor of postoperative morbidity for patients undergoing major gynecological and gastrointestinal surgeries for cancer in our institution. But there is a significant incidence of major complications with P- POSSUM morbidity prediction score 60 or higher leading to the need for more stringent assessment and monitoring in that subgroup.