Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the study population and for the different outcomes
| Study population, n=5622 | Missing | SBI, n=461 | IBI, n=46 | ILSI, n=203 | ICU admission, n=69 | |
| n (%) | n | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| General characteristics | ||||||
| Age in years, median (IQR) | 4.2 (1.8–8.5) | 5.3 (1.8–12.0) | 4.8 (1.3–9.1) | 4.1 (1.5–9.2) | 2.8 (1.1–5.8) | |
| Female | 2548 (45.3) | 228 (49.5) | 21 (45.7) | 89 (43.8) | 36 (52.2) | |
| Comorbidity | 1338 (23.8) | 91 | 167 (36.2) | 29 (63.0) | 92 (45.3) | 28 (40.6) |
| Complex comorbidity | 530 (9.4) | 85 (18.4) | 21 (45.7) | 53 (26.1) | 20 (29.0) | |
| Referred | 2354 (41.9) | 110 | 293 (63.6) | 35 (76.1) | 152 (74.9) | 55 (79.7) |
| Triage urgency | 264 | |||||
| Low: standard, non-urgent | 1746 (31.1) | 184 (39.9) | 6 (13.0) | 23 (11.3) | 5 (7.3) | |
| High: immediate, very urgent, intermediate | 3612 (64.2) | 224 (48.6) | 37 (80.4) | 159 (78.3) | 58 (84.1) | |
| Clinical symptoms | ||||||
| Fever duration in days, median (IQR) | 1.5 (0.5–3) | 704 | 1.5 (0.5–3) | 0.5 (0.5–3) | 0.5 (0.5–1.5) | 0.5 (0.5–1.5) |
| Ill appearance | 868 (15.4) | 620 | 173 (37.5) | 22 (47.8) | 106 (52.2) | 40 (58.0) |
| Decreased consciousness | 82 (1.5) | 90 | 10 (2.2) | 5 (10.9) | 42 (20.7) | 23 (33.3) |
| Vital signs | ||||||
| Temperature in °C, median (IQR) | 37.6 (36.8–38.4) | 480 | 37.9 (37.1–38.7) | 38.4 (37.7–39.2) | 38.2 (37.3–39) | 38.1 (37.1–38.7) |
| Prolonged capillary refill (>3 s) | 105 (1.9) | 866 | 24 (5.2) | 3 (6.5) | 39 (19.2) | 18 (26.1) |
| Tachycardia (APLS) | 1667 (29.7) | 55 | 199 (43.2) | 27 (58.7) | 113 (55.7) | 38 (55.1) |
| Hypotension (APLS) | 209 (3.7) | 38 (8.2) | 3 (6.5) | 22 (10.8) | 10 (14.5) | |
| Shock Index, median (IQR) | 1.2 (1.0–1.4) | 55 | 1.2 (1.0–1.5) | 1.3 (1.9–1.6) | 1.3 (1.1–1.6) | 1.4 (1.2–1.7) |
| Shock Index, >95th centile for age | 310 (5.5) | 55 | 44 (9.5) | 6 (13.0) | 29 (14.3) | 8 (11.6) |
| Diagnostics and treatment | ||||||
| C reactive protein in mg/L, median (IQR) | 20 (5–61) | 3378 | 91 (38–154) | 58 (17–147) | 20 (5–75) | 19 (4–83) |
| Blood cultures performed | 967 (17.2) | 243 (52.7) | 46 (100) | 118 (58.1) | 44 (63.8) | |
| Cerebrospinal fluid performed | 140 (2.5) | 34 (7.4) | 8 (17.4) | 28 (13.8) | 20 (29.0) | |
| Admission to the ward >24 hours | 1159 (20.6) | 137 | 281 (61.0) | 34 (73.9) | 109 (53.7) | |
| Admission to the ICU | 69 (1.2) | 19 (4.1) | 7 (15.2) | 43 (21.2) | 69 (100) | |
| Antibiotic treatment following ED visit | 1983 (35.3) | 55 | 407 (88.3) | 44 (95.7) | 151 (74.4) | 50 (72.5) |
APLS, advanced paediatric life support; ED, emergency department; IBI, invasive bacterial infection; ICU, intensive care unit; ILSI, immediate life-saving intervention; SBI, serious bacterial infection.