Sex differences in the SOFA score of ICU patients with sepsis or septic shock: a nationwide analysis

The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is an important tool in diagnosing sepsis and quantifying organ dysfunction. However, despite emerging evidence of differences in sepsis pathophysiology between women and men, sex is currently not being considered in the SOFA score. We aimed to in...

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Published in:Critical care (London, England) England), 2024-06, Vol.28 (1), p.209, Article 209
Main Authors: Zimmermann, Tobias, Kaufmann, Philip, Amacher, Simon A, Sutter, Raoul, Loosen, Gregor, Merdji, Hamid, Helms, Julie, Todorov, Atanas, Gebert, Pimrapat, Regitz-Zagrosek, Vera, Gebhard, Catherine, Singer, Mervyn, Siegemund, Martin, Gebhard, Caroline E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Analysis
Female
Gender differences
Hospital patients
Humans
Infection
Intensive care
Intensive Care Units - organization & administration
Intensive Care Units - statistics & numerical data
Liver
Male
Middle Aged
Mortality
Organ Dysfunction Scores
Prospective Studies
Retrospective Studies
Sepsis - classification
Sepsis - diagnosis
Sepsis - mortality
Sepsis - physiopathology
Septic shock
Sex Factors
Shock, Septic - classification
Shock, Septic - diagnosis
Shock, Septic - mortality
Shock, Septic - physiopathology
Switzerland - epidemiology
Womens health
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Summary:The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is an important tool in diagnosing sepsis and quantifying organ dysfunction. However, despite emerging evidence of differences in sepsis pathophysiology between women and men, sex is currently not being considered in the SOFA score. We aimed to investigate potential sex-specific differences in organ dysfunction, as measured by the SOFA score, in patients with sepsis or septic shock and explore outcome associations. Retrospective analysis of sex-specific differences in the SOFA score of prospectively enrolled ICU patients with sepsis or septic shock admitted to one of 85 certified Swiss ICUs between 01/2021 and 12/2022. Of 125,782 patients, 5947 (5%) were admitted with a clinical diagnosis of sepsis (2244, 38%) or septic shock (3703, 62%). Of these, 5078 (37% women) were eligible for analysis. A statistically significant difference of the total SOFA score on admission was found between women (mean 7.5 ± SD 3.6 points) and men (7.8 ± 3.6 points, Wilcoxon rank-sum p 
ISSN:1364-8535
1466-609X
1466-609X
1364-8535
1366-609X
DOI:10.1186/s13054-024-04996-y