Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Score

The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Score is a mortality prediction score that is based on the degree of dysfunction of six organ systems.
The score is calculated on admission and every 24 hours until discharge using the worst parameters measured during the prior 24 hours.
The scores can be used in a number of ways:
- As individual scores for each organ to determine progression of organ dysfunction.
- As the sum of scores on one single ICU day.
- As the sum of the worst scores during the ICU stay.
It is believed to provide a better stratification of the mortality risk in ICU patients given that the data used to calculate the score is not restricted to admission values.

Tips from creator Dr. Jean-Louis Vincent:

The respiratory dysfunction component is often misunderstood. The patient needs to have some respiratory support (mechanical ventilation or CPAP) to have a respiratory score of 3 or 4 (to make sure it is not just some minor atelectasis), but not the other way around: a comatose patient may need mechanical ventilation and yet have no significant hypoxemia.
It is also important to realize that the neurological score in sedated/anesthetized patients corresponds with the GCS that the patient would have in the absence of medications (i.e., assumed GCS).