Table 2.

POSSUM operative subscore¹⁵

Score	1	2	4	8
Operative severity	Minor	Moderate	Major	Major+
Multiple procedures	1		2	>2
Total blood loss	≤100ml	101—500ml	501—1,000ml	>1,000ml
Peritoneal soiling	None	Minor (serious fluid)	Local pus	Free bowel content, pus or blood
Presence of malignancy	None	Primary only	Nodal metastases	Distant metastases
Mode of surgery	Elective		Emergency resuscitation possible in >2h, surgery in <24h after admission	Emergency (surgery needed in <2h)