Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants.
| Characteristic | District hospital | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ntchisi | Mchinji | Balaka | Machinga | Total | |
| (n = 5,072) | (n = 4,225) | (n = 2,623) | (n = 3,543) | (N = 15,463) | |
| Hospitalization outcome, n (%) | |||||
| Discharged alive | 4,802 (96.2) | 3,955 (94.0) | 2,478 (94.9) | 3,363 (95.1) | 14,598 (95.1) |
| Dead | 75 (1.5) | 100 (2.4) | 75 (2.9) | 90 (2.5) | 340 (2.2) |
| Referred to other hospitals | 13 (0.3) | 33 (0.8) | 10 (0.4) | 22 (0.6) | 78 (0.5) |
| Absconded | 102 (2.0) | 118 (1.8) | 47 (1.8) | 62 (1.8) | 329 (2.1) |
| Age of child, n (%) | |||||
| 1–11 months | 1,233 (24.3) | 922 (21.8) | 576 (22.0) | 795 (22.5) | 3,526 (22.8) |
| 12–35 months | 2,902 (57.3) | 2,470 (58.5) | 1,481 (56.6) | 2,002 (56.6) | 8,855 (57.3) |
| 36–59 months | 932 (18.4) | 830 (19.7) | 562 (21.5) | 741 (20.9) | 741 (20.9) |
| Gender, Male, n (%) | 2,889 | 2,268 | 1,463 | 1,987 | 8,607 |
| (57.0) | (53.7) | (55.8) | (56.1) | (55.7) | |
| Fever on admission, > 37.5 °C, n (%) | 2,534/4,569 (55.5) | 1,495/3,543 (42.2) | 448/729 (61.5) | 1,337/2,303 (58.1) | 5,814/11,144 (52.2) |
| History of fever in last 7 days, n (%) | 4,367 | 3,429 | 2,181 | 2,947 | 12,924 |
| (86.1) | (81.2) | (83.2) | (83.2) | (83.6) | |
| HIV status, n (%) | |||||
| Negative | 912 | 2,683 | 2,067 | 1,992 | 7,654 |
| (18.2) | (63.6) | (79.2) | (56.3) | (49.9) | |
| Positive | 5 (0.1) | 27 (0.6) | 22 (0.8) | 35 (1.0) | 89 (0.6) |
| Exposed but uninfectedb | 6 (0.1) | 42 (1.0) | 75 (2.9) | 24 (0.7) | 147 (1.0) |
| Unknown | 4,079 | 1,454 | 446 | 1,486 | 7,465 |
| (81.6) | (34.6) | (17.1) | (42.0) | (48.6) | |
| Malaria positive by mRDT, n (%) | 2,103/4,005 | 2,010/2,998 | 974/1,468 | 1,866/3,063 | 6,953/11,534 |
| (52.5) | (67.0) | (66.4) | (60.9) | (60.3) | |
| Malnourished, MUACa <11.5 cm, n (%) | 300 (5.9) | 209 (4.9) | 128 (4.9) | 299 (8.4) | 936 (6.1) |
| Severe anemia (HB < 5 g/dl), n (%) | 211/2,051 (10.3) | 285/2,046 (13.9) | 142/1,628 (8.7) | 248/2,635 (9.4) | 886/8,360 (10.6) |
| Oxygen saturation, percentage, median (IQR) | 98 (96–100) | 96 (94–98) | 95.5 (90–98) | 100 (98–100) | 98 (95–99) |
| Blantyre coma score, median (range) | 5 (3–5) | 5 (2–5) | 5 (2–5) | 5 (2–5) | 5 (2–5) |
| Primary diagnosis, n (%) | |||||
| Malaria (not severe or cerebral) | 392/4,992 | 866/4,206 | 449/2,610 | 702/3,537 | 2,409/15,345 |
| (7.9) | (20.6) | (17.2) | (19.9) | (15.7) | |
| Severe or cerebral malaria | 1,446/4,992 | 1,030/4,206 | 634/2,610 | 871/3,537 | 3,981/15,345 |
| (29.0) | (24.5) | (24.3) | (24.6) | (25.9) | |
| Pneumonia (not severe) | 396/4,992 | 201/4,206 | 189/2,610 | 134/3,537 | 920/15,345 |
| (7.9) | (4.8) | (7.2) | (3.8) | (6.0) | |
| Severe pneumonia | 1,279/4,992 | 566/4,206 | 384/2,610 | 771/3,537 | 3,000/15,345 |
| (25.6) | (13.5) | (14.7) | (21.8) | (19.6) | |
| Sepsis or septicemia | 557/4,992 | 551/4,206 | 418/2,610 | 272/3,537 | 1,798/15,345 |
| (11.2) | (13.1) | (16.0) | (7.7) | (11.7) | |
| Severe anemia malaria | 148/4,992 | 64/4,206 | 213/2,610 | 394/3,537 | 819/15,345 |
| (3.0) | (1.5) | (8.2) | (11.1) | (5.3) | |
| Meningitis | 14/4,992 | 3/4,206 | 3/2,610 | 3/3,537 | 23/15,345 |
| (0.3) | (0.1) | (0.1) | (0.1) | (0.1) | |
| Other | 760/4,992 | 925/4,206 | 320/2,610 | 390/3,537 | 2,395/15,345 |
| (15.2) | (22.0) | (12.3) | (11.0) | (11.6) | |
a
MUAC, mid upper arm circumference.
b
Children exposed to HIV-positive mothers.