BackgroundPOSSUM and P-POSSUM are used in the assessment of outcomes in surgical patients. Neither scoring systems’ accuracy has been established where a level 1 critical care facility (level 1 care ward) is available for perioperative care. We compared POSSUM and P-POSSUM predicted with observed mortality on a level 1 care ward.MethodsA prospective, observational study was performed between May 2000 and June 2008. POSSUM and P-POSSUM scores were calculated for all postoperative patients who were admitted to the level 1 care ward. Data for post-operative mortality were obtained from hospital records for 2552 episodes of patient care. Observed vs expected mortality was compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the goodness of fit assessed using the Hosmer-Lemeshow equation.ResultsROC curves show good discriminative ability between survivors and non-survivors for POSSUM and P-POSSUM. Physiological score had far higher discrimination than operative score. Both models showed poor calibration and poor goodness of fit (Hosmer-Lemeshow). Observed to expected (O:E) mortality ratio for POSSUM and P-POSSUM indicated significantly fewer than expected deaths in all deciles of risk.ConclusionsOur data suggest a 30-60% reduction in O:E mortality. We suggest that the use of POSSUM models to predict mortality in patients admitted to level 1 care ward is inappropriate or that a recalibration of POSSUM is required to make it useful in a level 1 care ward setting.

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Herman Goldstein’s concept of ‘problem-oriented policing’ (POP) emphasized data gathering, analytics, and pattern identification to allow police to more effectively address problems faced by citizens in their communities. One of the most pressing problems in modern policing, however, is how departments should respond to accusations that police are not fair and consistent in their dealings with the public. In this article, the research team examined 1 year of officer body-worn camera footage, to create a roadmap of how the scanning, analysis, response, and assessment method of POP can be utilized to address public concerns by assessing and addressing how police interact with the public.

Online comments can affect news receivers’ news perceptions. But the role of individual online comment sources is still poorly understood. Using Sundar’s TIME (Theory of Interactive Media Effects) theory, this experiment examined the effects of commenter sex cues and news receiver sex on commenter credibility. Commenters with female (vs. male) names were rated higher in source credibility, and female news receivers were generally more likely to rate commenters higher on source credibility. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.