Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of pediatric admissions by age category
| Characteristic | All admissions | < 1 y old | 1–4 y old | 5–14 y old | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total admission, N (%) | 47,261 | 11,675 (25) | 24,629 (52) | 10,957 (23) | < 0.001 |
| LOS, d; median (IQR) | 3 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | |
| Gender, N (%) | – | – | – | – | 0.032 |
| Male | 26,695/47,043 (57) | 6,666 (57) | 13,951 (57) | 6,078 (56) | |
| Female | 20,348/47,043 (43) | 4,958 (43) | 10,556 (43) | 4,834 (44) | |
| Symptoms, N (%) | |||||
| Fever | 40,876/46,898 (87) | 9,679 (84) | 21,906 (89) | 9,291 (85) | < 0.001 |
| Vomiting | 15,417/46,430 (33) | 3,856 (34) | 7,976 (33) | 3,585 (33) | 0.131 |
| Diarrhea | 12,354/46,430 (27) | 4,558 (40) | 6,503 (27) | 1,293 (12) | < 0.001 |
| Bloody diarrhea | 1,510/46,238 (3) | 402 (4) | 805 (3) | 303 (3) | 0.006 |
| Cough | 29,067/46,528 (62) | 7,586 (67) | 15,806 (65) | 5,675 (53) | < 0.001 |
| Difficulty breathing | 10,719/46,421 (23) | 3,886 (34) | 5,250 (22) | 1,583 (15) | < 0.001 |
| Convulsions | 4,634/46,296 (10) | 924 (8) | 2,888 (12) | 822 (8) | < 0.001 |
| Altered consciousness | 814/45,798 (2) | 157 (1) | 456 (2) | 201 (2) | 0.003 |
| Admission diagnosis, N (%) | |||||
| Anemia | 8,013/44,137 (18) | 1,120 (10) | 4,209 (18) | 2,684 (27) | < 0.001 |
| Pneumonia | 9,077/44,137 (21) | 3,552 (33) | 4,543 (20) | 982 (10) | < 0.001 |
| Respiratory infection | 5,783/44,137 (13) | 1,359 (13) | 3,320 (14) | 1,104 (11) | < 0.001 |
| Sepsis | 8,881/44,137 (20) | 2,559 (24) | 4,448 (19) | 1,874 (19) | < 0.001 |
| Sickle cell | 2,328/44,137 (5) | 94 (1) | 887 (4) | 1,347 (13) | < 0.001 |
| Typhoid fever | 76/44,137 (0.17) | 2 (0) | 22 (0) | 52 (1) | < 0.001 |
| Diarrhea | 6,205/44,137 (14) | 2,671 (25) | 3,148 (14) | 386 (4) | < 0.001 |
| Malaria | 19,620/44,137 (44) | 2,840 (26) | 11,270 (48) | 5,510 (55) | < 0.001 |
| Malnutrition | 2,369/44,137 (5) | 601 (6) | 1,557 (7) | 211 (2) | < 0.001 |
| Discharge diagnosis, N (%) | |||||
| Anemia | 6,173/38,895 (16) | 832 (9) | 3,274 (16) | 2,067 (23) | < 0.001 |
| Pneumonia | 7,410/38,895 (19) | 2,839 (30) | 3,751 (18) | 820 (9) | < 0.001 |
| Respiratory infection | 3,976 /38,895 (10) | 932 (10) | 2,360 (11) | 684 (8) | < 0.001 |
| Sepsis | 7,229/38,895 (19) | 1,964 (21) | 3,668 (18) | 1,597 (18) | < 0.001 |
| Sickle cell | 2,416/38,895 (6) | 93 (1) | 904 (4) | 1,419 (16) | < 0.001 |
| Typhoid fever | 57/38,895 (0.15) | 5 (0.01) | 21 (0.05) | 31 (0.08) | < 0.001 |
| Diarrhea | 4,796/38,895 (12) | 2,202 (24) | 2,349 (11) | 245 (3) | < 0.001 |
| Malaria | 14,979/38,895 (39) | 1,956 (21) | 8,570 (42) | 4,453 (49) | < 0.001 |
| Malnutrition | 1,887/38,895 (5) | 497 (5) | 1,232 (6) | 158 (2) | < 0.001 |
| Malaria positivity, N (%) | – | – | – | – | < 0.001 |
| Positive | 19,128/43,892 (44) | 2,633 (25) | 11,132 (48) | 5,363 (53) | – |
| Negative | 23,455/43,892 (53) | 7,440 (71) | 11,619 (50) | 4,396 (44) | – |
| Not tested | 1,309/43,892 (3) | 387 (4) | 612 (3) | 310 (3) | – |
| Antimicrobial before admission, N (%) | 6,483/44,401 (15) | 1,892 (17) | 3,163 (14) | 1,428 (14) | < 0.001 |
| Antimalarial before admission, N (%) | 8,100/44,284 (18) | 1,249 (11) | 4,530 (20) | 2,321 (23) | < 0.001 |
| HIV status, N (%) | – | – | – | – | < 0.001 |
| HIV seropositive | 203/4,220 (5) | 32 (1) | 106 (1) | 65 (2) | – |
| HIV seronegative | 4,017/4,220 (24) | 986 (25) | 2,130 (23) | 901 (24) | – |
| Not tested | 12,840/17,060 (75) | 2,853 (74) | 7,217 (76) | 2,770 (74) | – |
| Died, N (%) | 1,691/43,805 (4) | 613 (6) | 741 (3) | 337 (3) | < 0.001 |
IQR = interquartile range; LOS = length of stay in the hospital.