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Evaluation of the severity of illness in infants by the Baby Check Score.

BACKGROUND
The Baby Check Score System was developed for the measurement of severity of illness for infants less than six months of age. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical application of the system in Chinese infants.


METHODS
A prospective study was carried out in 134 of 495 babies who were brought to the emergency room of Veterans General Hospital (VGH)-Taipei from April 1992 to July 1992. The on-duty interns scored each baby, and the on-duty residents graded the severity of illness in ignorance of the score. Two senior pediatricians reviewed the medical records retrospectively, in ignorance of the score or the on-duty resident's gradings.


RESULTS
The concordance between the score and the senior pediatricians' gradings was similar to that between the on-duty residents and senior pediatricians. The sensitivity of a score of 13 or more was as sensitive as the on-duty residents in identifying moderately or seriously ill babies. The specificity of a score of 0 to 12 was similar to that of the on-duty residents' gradings in identifying well or mildly ill babies.


CONCLUSIONS
The Baby Check Score System is as reliable as a junior doctor in judgement of illness severity and it can be used as an adjunct assessment in the evaluation of the severity of illness in Chinese infants under six months of age.