Table 1. Participants’ characteristics at admission to hospital.
| Admission characteristics (N=3,907) | No. (%) |
|---|---|
| Demographics | |
| Age in months, median (IQR) | 92 (74−116) |
| Sex (female) | 1673 (43) |
| Had been admitted prior to age 5 years,
before this study |
1152 (29) |
| Clinical features | |
| Axillary temp <36°C | 238 (6·1) |
| Axillary temp 36 to 37.5°C | 2009 (51) |
| Axillary temp >37.5°C | 1660 (43) |
| Respiratory rate <20 breaths per min | 80 (2.1) |
| Normal respiratory rate | 2179 (56) |
| Respiratory rate >30 breaths per min | 1580 (40) |
| Subcostal indrawing | 249 (6.4) |
| History of breathing difficulty | 432 (11) |
| Hypoxia (SaO 2 <90%) | 130 (3.3) |
| Heart rate <80 beats per min | 156 (4.0) |
| Normal heart rate | 1694 (43) |
| Heart rate >120 beats per min | 2035 (52) |
| Capillary refill >2 seconds | 98 (2.5) |
| Temperature gradient | 152 (3.9) |
| Weak pulse | 85 (2.2) |
| Lethargy | 417 (11) |
| Sunken eyes | 132 (3.4) |
| Reduced skin turgor | 71 (1.8) |
| Impaired consciousness * | 540 (14) |
| Severe pneumonia | 340 (8.7) |
| Diarrhoea | 194 (5.0) |
| Nutritional status | |
| Nutritional oedema | 90 (2.3) |
| MUAC-for-age z-score (sd) | -1.89 (1.5) |
| BMI-for-age z-score (sd) | -1.37 (1.2) |
| Height-for-age z-score (sd) | -1.46 (1.3) |
| Weight-for-age z-score (sd) | -1.81 (1.2) |
| Laboratory investigations | |
| HIV infected | 194 (5.0) |
| Malaria smear positive | 749 (19) |
| Anaemia | |
| None (haemoglobin ≥11.5g/dl) | 817 (21) |
| Moderate (haemoglobin 8 to 11.4g/dl) | 1497 (38) |
| Severe (haemoglobin <8g/dl) | 792 (20) |
| Bacteraemia | 138 (3.5) |
| Meningitis | 54 (1.4) |
*Defined as presence of prostration or coma. MUAC, mid-upper arm circumference; BMI, body mass index; sd, standard deviation. 49 (1.3%) records missing MUAC, 442 (11%) records missing BMI, 287 (7.3%) records missing height-for-age z-score, 881 (23%) records missing weight-for-age z-score, 22 (0.6%) records missing heart rate, 68 (1.7%) records missing respiratory rate.