The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Score

The SOFA system was created in a consensus meeting of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine in 1994 and further revised in 1996. The SOFA is a six-organ dysfunction/failure score measuring multiple organ failure daily. Each organ is graded from 0 (normal) to 4 (the most abnormal), providing a daily score of 0 to 24 points. The objective in the development of the SOFA was to create a simple, reliable, and continuous score easily obtained in every institution.

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Indications of Dialysis in Renal Failure

Indications of dialysis in acute renal failure (ARF)

  • Severe fluid overload
  • Refractory hypertension
  • Uncontrollable hyperkalemia
  • Nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, gastritis with hemorrhage
  • Lethargy, malaise, somnolence, stupor, coma, delirium, asterixis, tremor, seizures,
  • Pericarditis (risk of hemorrhage or tamponade)
  • bleeding diathesis (epistaxis, gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, etc.)
  • Severe metabolic acidosis
  • Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) > 70 – 100 mg/dl

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Criteria for Chronic Respiratory Failure in Infants and Children

Criteria for Chronic Respiratory Failure due to Cardiopulmonary Disorders in Infants and Children

Clinical criteria

  • Decreased inspiratory breath sounds
  • Increased retractions, use of accessory muscles
  • Cyanosis breathing room air
  • Decreased level of normal activity/function
  • Poor weight gain (mass) (IMPORTANT)

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King´s College Hospital Criteria for Liver Transplantation in Fulminant Hepatic Failure

In acetaminophen-induced fulminant hepatic failure, survival correlated with arterial blood pH, peak prothrombin time, and serum creatinine–a pH less than 7.30, prothrombin time greater than 100 s, and creatinine greater than 300 mumol/L indicating a poor prognosis.

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NYHA Functional Classification for Congestive Heart Failure

The New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Classification provides a simple way of classifying heart disease (originally cardiac failure), useful for preoperative assessment. It places patients in one of four categories, based on how much they are limited during physical activity:

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