Table 3.
Number (%) of children with and without one of WHO indications for antimicrobial treatment by organism isolated from blood or cerebrospinal fluid
| Guidelines indication | Non-typhi Salmonella | Haemophilus influenzae b | Other Gram negative* | Strep pneumoniae | Other Gram positive† | No organism isolated | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meningo-encephalopathy | 7 (3) | 18 (7) | 5 (2) | 5 (2) | 4 (2) | 216 (85) | 255 |
| Malaria with shock | 4 (5) | 0 | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 76 (93) | 82 |
| Very severe pneumonia | 31 (8) | 6 (2) | 10 (3) | 15 (4) | 5 (3) | 311 (82) | 378 |
| Severe pneumonia | 13 (7) | 5 (3) | 2 (1) | 9 (5) | 1 (5) | 171 (85) | 201 |
| Non-severe pneumonia | 39 (5) | 4 (1) | 15 (2) | 15 (2) | 6 (1) | 766 (91) | 845 |
| Septicaemia | 1 (4) | 0 | 1 (4) | 1 (4) | 0 | 25 (89) | 28 |
| Severe acute malnutrition | 2 (5) | 1 (3) | 2 (5) | 1 (3) | 0 | 34 (85) | 40 |
| No WHO indication‡ | 63 (3.5) | 5 (0.3) | 24 (1.3) | 10 (0.6) | 9 (0.5) | 1699 (93.9) | 1810 |
One child in whom Strep pneumoniae was isolated from cerebrospinal fluid and non-typhi Salmonella was isolated from blood was classified as infected with Strep pneumoniae alone.
*Included 23 E coli and 11 Salmonella typhi.
†Included 17 Staph aureus.
‡225/1810 (12.4%) of children who did not meet an existing WHO indication for antimicrobial treatment had severe anaemia (haemoglobin <5 g/dl).