Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6115880 | Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease | 2014 | 22 Pages |
Abstract
We aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of applying cut-off levels of inflammatory markers and to develop a prediction model for differentiation between bacterial and viral infections in paediatric community-acquired pneumonia based on C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil, and white cell counts (WCC). Amongst 401 children, those with bacterial pneumonia were older than those with viral pneumonia (PÂ <Â 0.001). Compared to viral, bacterial infections had a higher median CRP level (PÂ <Â 0.001), whereas WCC and neutrophil count were not different. Bacterial infections were associated with higher CRP >80 mg/L than viral infections (PÂ =Â 0.001), but levels <20 mg/L were not discriminatory (PÂ =Â 0.254). Receiver operating characteristic curve of the model for differentiating bacterial from viral pneumonia based on age, CRP, and neutrophil count produced area under the curve of 0.894 with 75.7% sensitivity and 89.4% specificity. This aetiological discriminant prediction model is a potentially useful tool in clinical management and epidemiological studies of paediatric pneumonia.
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Authors
Mohamed A. Elemraid, Stephen P. Rushton, Matthew F. Thomas, David A. Spencer, Andrew R. Gennery, Julia E. Clark,