The SOFA score in sepsis-related diseases - a comparison with MOD and APACHE II score

The SOFA score, a new system for patients with sepsis-related diseases, was introduced in 1994 by the "Working Group on Sepsis-Related Problems of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine." The purpose of this study wa s to compare the new SOFA score with the APACHE II and MOD scores. The data on 874 patients from a surgical intensive care unit in Bn university hospi tal were analyzed using commercially available software (SPSS for Windows, Version 7.5.2 and MS Excel '97). To compare the different scores, receiver- operating characteristics (ROC) - analyses were applied. The study demonstr ated a clear correlation between an elevated SOFA score and the mortality o f the patients during their ICU stay (score 0 --> mortality 0%, 1 --> 3.6%, 2 --> 22.5%, 3 --> 86,7%, respectively r = 0.445; P = 0,01). The ROC analy ses of the APACHE II, the MOD and the SOFA scores were comparable (area und er the curve: APACHE II 0.73, MOD 0.77, SOFA 0.71). In conclusion, the SOFA score is reliable and might be useful in the daily routine of an intensive care unit.