Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score Grouping Should Not Be the Primary Determinant for Allocation of Ventilators during a Pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus-19 (COVD-19) pandemic has resulted in strains on critical care resources throughout the world. Existing and newly developed guidelines for the allocation of scarce resources, including ventilators, frequently use the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score for prognostic determination. This article will outline how SOFA scores were neither designed nor tested for this purpose and why guidelines based upon SOFA score groupings do not conform to ethical principles and community values.