The SOFA Organ Dysfunction Scale has been proposed to assess multi-organ failure in patients with sepsis. Initially, it was called the Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA Score) scale for assessing the severity of organ dysfunction in sepsis, but later its name was changed to the modern one - Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (dynamic assessment of organ failure). The name change was due to the understanding of the fact that multiorgan dysfunction can be caused not only by sepsis, but also by other pathological processes of various origins.
The SOFA index is equal to the sum of six indicators. The higher the indicator, the greater the inadequacy of the system being assessed. The higher the index as a whole, the greater the degree of multiorgan dysfunction. Dysfunction of each organ (system) is assessed separately in dynamics against the background of intensive therapy. With a total of no more than 12 points, multiple organ dysfunctions are assumed, 13-17 points - a transition of dysfunction to insufficiency is assumed, a score of about 24 indicates a high probability of death.
In the presence of infection, an increase in the SOFA index by 2 or more points in comparison with the previous value is one of the clinical criteria for sepsis.