Table 2.

Severe organ failure, measured with the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Day 1–5

Organ system	Epoprostenol	Placebo
Respiration	30/111 (27%)	32/113 (28%)	ns
Circulation	8/112 (7%)	10/114 (9%)	ns
Coagulation	6/114 (5%)	1/112 (1%)	ns
Liver function	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	ns
Renal function	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	ns

Number of days with SOFA ≥3 of all registered SOFA scores on days 1–5 in different organ systems are given in numbers and percentage.

The SOFA scores the degree of organ failure in six different systems (respiratory, haematological, hepatic, cardiovascular, renal, and central nervous system) from zero (no organ failure) to four (severe organ failure). The worst parameter per day in each system was registered without consideration for duration. Severe organ failure is defined here as SOFA ≥3. Central nervous system SOFA was not scored due to the fact that the patients were treated with continuous intravenous sedation.

ns = non-significant.