Abstract
The Baby Check score card was used by junior paediatric doctors to assess 262 babies under 6 months old presenting to hospital. The duty registrar and two consultants independently graded the severity of each baby's illness without knowledge of the Baby Check score. The registrars assessed the babies at presentation while the consultants reviewed the notes. The consultants and registrars agreed about the need for hospital admission only about 75% of the time. The score's sensitivity and predictive values were similar to those of the registrars' grading. The score's specificity was 87%. Babies with serious diagnosis scored high, while minor illnesses scored low. The predictive value for requiring hospital admission increased with the score, rising to 100% for scores of 20 or more. The appropriate use of Baby Check should improve the detection of serious illness. It could also reduce the number of babies admitted with minor illness, without putting them at increased risk.
Highlights
The Baby Check score card was used by junior paediatric doctors to assess 262 babies under 6 months old presenting to hospital
The predictive value for requiring hospital admission increased with the score, rising to 100% for scores of 20 or more
This paper reports a field trial in which Baby Check was used to score babies presenting to hospital with an acute illness
Summary
The Baby Check score card was used by junior paediatric doctors to assess 262 babies under 6 months old presenting to hospital. The duty registrar and two consultants independently graded the severity of each baby's illness without knowledge of the Baby Check score. The appropriate use of Baby Check should improve the detection of serious illness It could reduce the number of babies admitted with minor illness, without putting them at increased risk. Baby Check is a score card developed to help and health professionals assess the severity of acute illness in babies under 6 months old.' 2 It consists of 19 checks (seven questions about symptoms in the previous 24 hours and simple examination signs), each carrying a score. The total score is divided into four groups, a score between 0 and 7 means the baby is well or only mildly ill and is unlikely to need medical attention at present, a score between 8 and 12 that the baby is unwell but is not seriously ill, and that advice should be parents
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
