Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score

The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (originally called the Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score) was developed as a clinical scoring system to provide an overview of where any critically ill patient was with regards to the sequence of organ system failure. It was not explicitly designed/intended to be a prognostic score, although later research has established that it can be used as such .

Scoring

Each of six organ systems is independently assigned a score of 1 to 4. The total SOFA score represents a summation of these six scores, with scores ranging 6 to 24, with sicker patients generally being assigned higher scores .

Organ systems

Depending on the value of each parameter, a score from 1-4 can be assigned for each organ system:

• respiration: PaO2
• coagulation: platelets
• liver: bilirubin
• cardiovascular: hypotension
• CNS: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)
• renal: creatinine or urine output

History and etymology

The European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) devised the sequential organ failure assessment score at a consensus meeting in October 1994 in Paris, France .