Table 4.
Test characteristics of individual clinical signs for some dehydration (unshaded) and severe dehydration (shaded)
| Sensitivity | Specificity | LR positive (95% CI) | LR negative (95% CI) | χ2 | Reliability* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General appearance | 0·95 | |||||
| Restless or irritable (some dehydration) | 0·81 | 0·67 | 2·4 (2·0−2·9) | 0·28 (0·21−0·37) | 117·38 | ·· |
| Lethargic or unconscious (severe dehydration) | 0·73 | 0·69 | 2·3 (1·9−2·9) | 0·39 (0·27−0·58) | 44·66 | ·· |
|
| ||||||
| Skin pinch | 0·85 | |||||
| Slow (some dehydration) | 0·84 | 0·68 | 2·6 (2·2−3·2) | 0·23 (0·17−0·31) | 138·51 | ·· |
| Very slow (severe dehydration) | 0·40 | 0·88 | 3·3 (2·2−4·8) | 0·68 (0·56−0·83) | 34·33 | ·· |
|
| ||||||
| Tears | 0·63 | |||||
| Decreased (some dehydration) | 0·83 | 0·47 | 1·6 (1·4−1·8) | 0·36 (0·27−0·49) | 52·17 | ·· |
| Absent (severe dehydration) | 0·29 | 0·90 | 2·8 (1·8−4·5) | 0·79 (0·68−0·92) | 18·51 | ·· |
|
| ||||||
| Respirations | 0·77 | |||||
| Normal (some dehydration) | 0·67 | 0·81 | 3·5 (2·7−4·6) | 0·41 (0·34−0·49) | 115·76 | ·· |
| Deep (severe dehydration) | 0·36 | 0·92 | 4·2 (2·7−6·6) | 0·70 (0·59−0·84) | 41·43 | ·· |
|
| ||||||
| Eyes | 0·67 | |||||
| Sunken eyes (some dehydration) | 0·95 | 0·26 | 1·3 (1·2−1·4) | 0·20 (0·11–0·35) | 41·78 | ·· |
| Sunken eyes (severe dehydration) | 0·59 | 0·82 | 3·2 (2·4−4·2) | 0·51 (0·38−0·67) | 53·44 | ·· |
|
| ||||||
| Thirst | 0·19 | |||||
| Drinks eagerly and thirsty (some dehydration) | 0·93 | 0·21 | 1·2 (1·1−1·3) | 0·34 (0·20−0·56) | 20·25 | ·· |
| Not able to drink or drinks poorly (severe dehydration) | 0·13 | 0·96 | 3·4 (1·6−7·4) | 0·91 (0·83−0·99) | 10·40 | ·· |
LR=likelihood ratio.
*
Reliability assessed by Cohen’s κ (weighted).