Table 3.

Categories of diagnosis in children presenting with acute medical conditions at PEU (n = 430).

Diagnosis	Frequency (n)	Percent (%)
Severe malaria	162	38
Severe malaria with acute disease	22	5
Assumed severe malaria	50	12
Septicaemia	40	9
Enteric fever	14	3
Meningitis	16	4
Diarrhea and vomiting	46	11
Acute respiratory disease	46	11
Sickle cell disease with acute disease	28	6
Others	6	1

Malaria with acute disease: malaria with one of the following: septicaemia, enteric fever, meningitis, or pneumonia.

Acute respiratory disease: acute asthma attack, pneumonia, or bronchiolitis.

Assumed severe malaria: patient with acute illness treated as severe malaria but not malaria parasites on blood film and negative blood, urine, and/or cerebrospinal fluid cultures. These patients improved on an antimalaria treatment.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) with acute disease: SCD with one of the following, severe malaria, severe anaemia, acute haemolysis, acute chest syndrome, septicaemia, and vasooclusive crisis.

Others: urinary tract infection, tonsillitis, and otitis media.