Table 3. Vital Signs and Laboratory Values of the Patients at Hospital Admission, According to Age Group.*.
| Characteristic | Overall (N=99) |
0–5 Years (N=31) |
6–12 Years (N=42) |
13–20 Years (N=26) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vital signs | ||||
| Median heart rate (IQR) — beats/min | 133 (120–148) | 145 (130–158) | 138 (123–153) | 121 (116–130) |
| Tachycardia — no. (%)† | 96 (97) | 28 (90) | 42 (100) | 26 (100) |
| Median respiratory rate (IQR) — breaths/min | 27 (23–36) | 31 (24–42) | 26 (23–36) | 26 (20–33) |
| Tachypnea — no. (%)‡ | 77 (78) | 21 (68) | 34 (81) | 22 (85) |
| Hypotension — no. (%)§ | 32 (32) | 3 (10) | 17 (40) | 12 (46) |
| Median temperature (IQR) — °C | 38.3 (37.5–39.3) | 38.3 (37.3–39.4) | 38.4 (37.5–39.3) | 38.3 (37.4–39.3) |
| Temperature ≥38.0°C — no. (%)¶ | 62 (63) | 19 (61) | 27 (64) | 16 (62) |
| Median oxygen saturation (IQR) — % | 98 (97–100) | 98 (96–99) | 99 (97–100) | 98 (95–99) |
| Oxygen saturation <92% — no. (%) | 4 (4) | 3 (10) | 0 | 1 (4) |
| Laboratory values‖ | ||||
| Median white-cell count (IQR) — ×10−3/μl | 10.4 (6.7–14.5) | 11.2 (7.4–14.8) | 9.1 (6.4–13.7) | 10.9 (8.0–14.0) |
| Median lymphocyte level (IQR) — % | 10.0 (5.0–16.0) | 17.9 (11.7–23.0) | 8.5 (4.0–12.0) | 6.0 (4.0–11.3) |
| Lymphopenia — no./total no. (%)** | 59/89 (66) | 11/27 (41) | 29/38 (76) | 19/24 (79) |
| Median neutrophil level (IQR) — % | 82.0 (76.0–89.0) | 75.0 (65.5–79.2) | 86.0 (80.6–91.0) | 87.0 (81.0–90.0) |
| Neutropenia — no./total no. (%)†† | 0/89 | 0/28 | 0/38 | 0/23 |
| Median platelet count (IQR) — ×10−9/liter | 155 (105–233) | 186 (107–297) | 125 (100–200) | 162 (130–223) |
| Platelet count <80×10−9/liter — no./total no. (%) | 10/95 (11) | 2/29 (7) | 7/40 (18) | 1/26 (4) |
| Elevated proBNP level — no./total no. (%)‡‡ | 74/82 (90) | 22/23 (96) | 34/34 (100) | 18/25 (72) |
| Elevated troponin level — no./total no. (%) | 63/89 (71) | 15/26 (58) | 27/38 (71) | 21/25 (84) |
| Median procalcitonin level (IQR) — ng/dl | 6.2 (2.2–19.7) | 6.1 (2.2–15.8) | 11.3 (4.4–24.8) | 2.7 (0.4–18.5) |
| Elevated procalcitonin level — no./total no. (%)§§ | 60/65 (92) | 19/20 (95) | 29/29 (100) | 12/16 (75) |
| C-reactive protein level | ||||
| Median (IQR) — mg/dl | 21.9 (15.0–30.0) | 20.6 (11.3–29.0) | 21.0 (16.0–28.7) | 28.3 (18.5–36.4) |
| Distribution — no./total no. (%) | ||||
| ≥3.0 mg/dl | 98/98 (100) | 31/31 (100) | 41/41 (100) | 26/26 (100) |
| >5.0 mg/dl | 97/98 (99) | 31/31 (100) | 41/41 (100) | 25/26 (96) |
| >10.0 mg/dl | 85/98 (87) | 24/31 (77) | 38/41 (93) | 23/26 (88) |
| >20.0 mg/dl | 59/98 (60) | 17/31 (55) | 23/41 (56) | 19/26 (73) |
| Median fibrinogen level (IQR) — mg/dl | 624 (506–764) | 551 (386–689) | 596 (496–719) | 766 (620–836) |
| Fibrinogen level >400 mg/dl — no./total no. (%) | 57/66 (86) | 13/18 (72) | 27/31 (87) | 17/17 (100) |
| Median d-dimer level (IQR) — mg/liter | 2.4 (1.2–3.7) | 2.7 (1.7–4.4) | 2.5 (1.3–3.6) | 1.8 (0.8–3.3) |
| d-dimer level >0.55 mg/liter — no./total no. (%) | 86/94 (91) | 26/28 (93) | 38/40 (95) | 22/26 (85) |
| Median ferritin level (IQR) — ng/ml¶¶ | 522 (305–820) | 412 (185–698) | 613 (305–932) | 540 (365–880) |
| Ferritin level >300 ng/ml — no./total no. (%) | 62/83 (75) | 16/23 (70) | 27/36 (75) | 19/24 (79) |
| Median albumin level (IQR) — g/dl | 3.1 (2.5–3.6) | 3.2 (2.5–3.6) | 3.1 (2.5–3.5) | 3.1 (2.6–3.8) |
| Albumin level ≤3.0 g/dl — no./total no. (%) | 45/94 (48) | 13/29 (45) | 20/41 (49) | 12/24 (50) |
| Median LDH level (IQR) — U/liter | 313 (267–380) | 328 (273–426) | 288 (256–342) | 325 (283–465) |
| LDH level ≥500 U/liter — no./total no. (%) | 6/69 (9) | 2/19 (11) | 2/31 (6) | 2/19 (11) |
| Median interleukin-6 level (IQR) — pg/ml | 116.3 (37.0–315.0) | 80.0 (7.7–301.4) | 215.0 (47.0–315.0) | 111.0 (63.7–286.0) |
| Interleukin-6 level ≥5.0 pg/ml — no./total no. (%) | 33/34 (97) | 6/7 (86) | 18/18 (100) | 9/9 (100) |
| Median ESR (IQR) — mm/hr | 61.5 (43.0–77.5) | 57.5 (46.0–72.0) | 55.5 (38.0–75.5) | 65.0 (59.0–88.0) |
| ESR ≥40 mm/hr — no./total no. (%) | 40/52 (77) | 15/18 (83) | 14/20 (70) | 11/14 (79) |
ESR denotes erythrocyte sedimentation rate, LDH lactate dehydrogenase, and proBNP pro–brain natriuretic peptide.
An elevated heart rate was coded as more than 160 beats per minute for an age of 0 to younger than 3 months, more than 150 for 3 to younger than 6 months, more than 130 for 6 to younger than 12 months, more than 125 for 1 to younger than 3 years, more than 115 for 3 to younger than 6 years, and more than 100 for older than 6 12 years.16
An elevated respiratory rate was coded as more than 60 breaths per minute for an age of 0 to younger than 3 months, more than 45 for 3 to younger than 6 months, more than 40 for 6 to younger than 12 months, more than 30 for 1 to younger than 3 years, more than 25 for 3 to younger than 6 years, more than 22 for 6 to younger than 12 years, and more than 18 for older than 12 years.16
Hypotension was defined as a systolic blood pressure of less than 60 mm Hg for an age of younger than 1 month, less than 70 mm Hg for 1 month to younger than 1 year, [<70+(2×the age in years)] mm Hg for 1 to 10 years, and less than 90 mm Hg for older than 10 years.16
Patients were considered to have fever if there was either subjective or objective fever.
The normal ranges for selected variables are as follows: fibrinogen level, 200 to 400 mg per deciliter; d-dimer level, 0.20 to 0.55 mg per liter; albumin level, 3.4 to 5.4 g per deciliter; and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), 0 to 10 mm per hour.
Lymphopenia was defined as a lymphocyte level of less than 2.5% for an age of younger than 1 month, less than 4.0% for 1 to younger than 12 months, less than 3.0% for 1 to younger than 2 years, less than 2.0% for 2 to younger than 4 years, less than 1.5% for 4 to younger than 10 years, less than 1.2% for 10 to younger than 16 years, and less than 1.0% for 16 years or older.16
Neutropenia was classified as a neutrophil level of less than 1.0% for an age of younger than 6 months, less than 1.5% for 6 months to younger than 10 years, and less than 1.8% for 10 years or older.16
An elevated proBNP level (excluding children <1 month of age) was classified as more than 1121 pg per milliliter for an age of 1 month to younger than 1 year, more than 675 pg per milliliter for 1 to younger than 2 years, more than 391 pg per milliliter for 2 to younger than 14 years, and more than 363 pg per milliliter for 14 years or older.17
An elevated procalcitonin level was classified as more than 0.5 ng per deciliter.18
The ferritin level was measured for children older than 2 months of age.