The Surgical Outcome Risk Tool (SORT)
New: The spreadsheets used for SORT and SORT2 calculators and AXA-PPP surg procedure and severity, can be downloaded here.

A second version of the SORT was published on 15 October 2020 (see link below). Data were collected from patients from the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The new risk calculator contains the new feature of clinician’s estimate of risk – recommended to be assessed by senior decision-makers in the multi-disciplinary perioperative care team http://www.sortsurgery.com/.
The SORT app is now available to download for FREE from the App store (Apple) and Google Play (Android)

The SORT is a surgical preoperative risk prediction tool. It provides a percentage estimate of death within 30 days of inpatient surgery for adults (exclusions in the first version of SORT obstetrics, neurosurgery, cardiac and transplant surgery). It has an advantage over many existing prediction tools by consisting of solely preoperative variables and allowing rapid and easy data entry. In the analyses in the first SORT paper, it was also found to have greater accuracy than two other preoperative tools.

The results of a survey of over 500 participants in the UK in May 2015 indicated that the SORT web tool was mostly starting to be used in preoperative assessment clinics, high risk clinics, and the emergency and surgery departments.


App storeGoogle playClick on the app badges to access the direct link to the SORT app on:
App Store (Operating system: iOS 9.1 or later required; Hardware: optimised for iPhone 5 or later. iPhone version works on iPad and iPhone touch). When downloading the app using an iPad, please select the ‘iPhone only’ option at the top left hand side of your tablet (Please click here for installation image).
Google Play (Operating system: Android Jelly Bean or later required; Hardware: high density screen size ‘xlarge’, ‘large’, or smaller.

1. Second version of SORT
Wong DJN, Harris S, Sahni A, Bedford JR, Cortes L, Shawyer R, et al. (2020) Developing and validating subjective and objective risk assessment measures for predicting mortality after major surgery: An international prospective cohort study. PLoS Med, 17(10): e1003253. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003253

2. SORT editorial by Karen Protopapa – click here
Is there a place for the Surgical Outcome Risk Tool app in routine clinical practice? British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 77(11), pp. 612–613.
This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in the British Journal of Hospital Medicine, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/10.12968/hmed.2016.77.11.612

3. First version of SORT BJS :
Protopapa KL, Simpson JC, Smith NCE, Moonesinghe SR. Development and validation of the Surgical Outcome Risk Tool (SORT). Br J Surg 2014. 101: 1774-1783.
The SORT was a collaborative effort by researchers from NCEPOD and the UCL/UCLH Surgical Outcomes Research Centre (SOuRCe).

4. Web-based tool for users who prefer desktop use: www.sortsurgery.com