Table 2 Clinical history and presentation of children attending HUCSH, 2018–2019
From: Aetiology of acute febrile illness among children attending a tertiary hospital in southern Ethiopia
Characteristics | Frequency (%) (N = 433) |
|---|---|
Clinical history | |
 Chronic diseaseb | 16 (3.7) |
 Duration of fever | |
  1 day | 118 (27.3) |
  2–4 days | 239 (55.2) |
  5–7 days | 76 (17.6) |
Most frequently reported symptoms | |
 Cough | 230 (53.1) |
 Vomiting | 160 (37.0) |
 Fast breathing | 79 (18.2) |
 Diarrhoea | 82 (18.9) |
 Headache | 24 (15.6)a |
 Sneezing /rhinorrhoea | 46 (10.6) |
 Sore throat | 16 (10.4)a |
 Grunting | 33 (7.6) |
 Abdominal pain | 28 (6.5) |
 Dysuria/urine frequency | 9 (2.1) |
 Rash | 9 (2.1) |
Vital signs | |
 Axillary temperature | |
   < 37.5 °C | 46 (10.6) |
  37.5–38.9 °C | 325 (75.1) |
   ≥ 39 °C | 62 (14.3) |
 Tachypnea | 244 (56.4) |
 Tachycardia | 169 (39.0) |
Most frequently reported systemic signs | |
 Throat | |
  Pharyngeal erythema | 55 (12.7) |
  Tonsillar enlargement | 48 (11.1) |
 Lung | |
  Retraction | 78 (18.0) |
  Chest indrawing | 35 (8.0) |
  Crepitation | 106 (24.5) |
 Abdomen | |
  Abdominal tenderness | 12 (2.8) |
  Hepatomegaly | 22 (5.1) |
 Lymphadenopathy | 12 (2.7) |