Neonatal Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score (nSOFA) for Prediction of Mortality Among Preterm Neonates with...

Preterm birth is a major contributor to neonatal morbidity and mortality. This study evaluated the neonatal Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (nSOFA) score for predicting mortality in preterm neonates (< 34 weeks) with respiratory distress syndrome. Among 113 neonates, median (q1, q3) nSOFA scores at 0-6 h of life were higher in non-survivors than survivors [4 (4, 6) vs 0 (0, 2); P = 0.001], with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.80 and a cutoff of 3. Predictive performance improved at 24 ± 3 h (AUC 0.93), with higher scores in non-survivors [8 (5, 11) vs 0 (0, 2); P < 0.001] and a cutoff of 4. Neonates with composite morbidity had significantly higher nSOFA scores at both time points.