SOFA Score Calculator

Calculate the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score across six organ systems to quantify organ dysfunction in critically ill patients. Central to the Sepsis-3 definition of sepsis.

🏥 Clinical Score📐 SOFA = sum of 6 organ system scores (0–24)🏥 Health

Respiration — PaO2/FiO2 (mmHg)

Coagulation — platelets (×10³/µL)

Liver — bilirubin (mg/dL)

Cardiovascular

Central nervous system — GCS

Renal — creatinine or urine output

Please enter valid values.

Formula & Reference

Variable	Symbol	Formula	Units
SOFA Score Calculator	—	SOFA = sum of 6 organ system scores (0–24)	points

Step-by-Step Examples

Example 1

Minimal Dysfunction

PaO2/FiO2 420, platelets 210, bilirubin 0.8, MAP 82, GCS 15, creatinine 0.9.

Every system falls in the 0-point band
Total = 0

✓ SOFA 0 — no organ dysfunction

Example 2

Moderate Dysfunction

PaO2/FiO2 260 (2), platelets 88 (2), bilirubin 2.4 (2), MAP 64 (1), GCS 13 (1), creatinine 1.6 (1).

Respiration 2 + coagulation 2 + liver 2
Cardiovascular 1 + CNS 1 + renal 1
Total = 9

✓ SOFA 9 — moderate organ dysfunction

Example 3

Severe Multi-Organ Failure

PaO2/FiO2 90 on ventilator (4), platelets 16 (4), bilirubin 13 (4), norepinephrine 0.3 (4), GCS 5 (4), creatinine 5.4 (4).

Every organ system scores the maximum 4
6 × 4 = 24
Total = 24

✓ SOFA 24 — maximum score, severe multi-organ failure

Real-World Applications

🏥

ICU Severity Grading

SOFA is the most widely used instrument for describing and comparing organ dysfunction burden in intensive care populations.

🧪

Sepsis-3 Definition

Sepsis is formally defined as suspected infection plus an acute SOFA increase of 2 points or more from baseline.

📈

Trend Analysis

Serial SOFA scores over the first days of admission carry more prognostic information than any single measurement.

📚

Critical Care Research

SOFA is a standard severity adjustment variable in ICU trials, enabling comparison across heterogeneous patient groups.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

⚠️

Scoring SOFA without laboratory data

Four of six components require blood tests. Estimating them defeats the purpose and produces a number that looks precise but is not.

⚠️

Ignoring baseline organ function

Sepsis-3 uses the change in SOFA. A patient with chronic kidney disease may have a persistently elevated renal component that reflects baseline, not acute deterioration.

⚠️

Using SOFA to make individual prognoses

SOFA describes populations well and individuals poorly. It should never be used as the basis for withdrawing or limiting care for a specific patient.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does SOFA measure? ▾

Dysfunction in six organ systems — respiratory, coagulation, hepatic, cardiovascular, neurological, and renal — each scored 0 to 4, for a total from 0 to 24.

How does SOFA relate to sepsis? ▾

Under the Sepsis-3 consensus, sepsis is life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, operationalized as an acute rise in SOFA of at least 2 points.

What is the difference between SOFA and qSOFA? ▾

qSOFA is a three-item bedside screen requiring no labs; SOFA is the full six-system assessment requiring laboratory values and is what actually defines organ dysfunction.

What SOFA score indicates high mortality? ▾

Mortality rises steadily with score, and scores above roughly 11 have been associated with substantially elevated risk — though these are population statistics, not individual predictions.

Is SOFA calculated once or repeatedly? ▾

Repeatedly. Most protocols score daily, because change over time is far more informative than the admission value alone.