Evaluation of SOFA score (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score) in hospitalised patients with sepsis

Abstract

Considering sepsis as a common illness the following study studied the score and extrapolated with survival benefits in medical emergency patients. The score was made to determine population level burden of disease.Various studies recommended SOFA for screening sepsis and determine prognosis. The score has been used to determine injury to organs in admitted patients with infection. The cross sectional study was conducted at Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences, Kolkata over a period of one year (2019 till 2020) on sepsis patients admitted in medical ICU. The study revealed that more the scores on the day of admission, the more is the risk of adverse outcomes and subsequent early mortality (within day 7 of admission). In this study, among 56 cases of total death within the first 7 days of admission, 53 patients (94.64%) had day 0 SOFA score of >9 making it a significant outcome in this study. Baseline SOFA scores ≥ 9 and rising SOFA scores as day progresses can predict mortality in sepsis. The mean SOFA score on admission to the ICU was 9.2. The 28-day mortality rate was 28%. Patients with a SOFA score of 9 or more on admission to the ICU had a significantly higher mortality rate than those with a score of less than 9 (42% vs. 14%, p < 0.01). The SOFA score on day 3 of ICU stay was also significantly associated with mortality (p < 0.01). The SOFA score is a simple and easy-to-use tool that can be used to assess the severity of organ dysfunction in patients with sepsis. It is a good predictor of mortality in patients with sepsis admitted to the ICU.