Accuracy of the Yale Observation Scale as a Screening Test for Detecting Serious Illness in Febrile Infants

Authors

  • Pedro Ochoa Allemant Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú
  • Evelyn Obregón Julca Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.
  • Fiorella Nuñez del Prado Zora Carbajal Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.
  • María Cristina Ojeda Nieto Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.
  • Marcial Anaya Pajuelo Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza. Lima Perú.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61651/rped.2014v67n2p67-77

Keywords:

Fever, Infant, Severity of Illness Index

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the accuracy of the Yale Observation Scale (YOS) as a screening test in detecting serious illness in febrile infants.

Materials and methods: An observational, prospective and longitudinal study which included febrile infants aged 3 to 24 months who presented to the Emergency Department of the Arzobispo Loayza Hospital from April 13th to June 6th 2012 were scored with the YOS before clinical examination. Inpatients were followed up until the diagnosis confirmation and discharge. Outpatients were followed up by calling them for a maximum of 5 days.

Results: Data from 61 infants were analyzed. 30 (49%) had well appearance, 21 (35%) ill appearance and 10 (16%) very ill appearance. Only 10 developed serious illness, 9 out of these 10 had a YOS score ≥16. The mean YOS score for serious illness is 17 (p= 0,007). For a cut off value of 10, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, LR+ and LR- of YOS was 100%, 59%, 32%, 100%, 2,43, and 0 respectively. For a cut off value of 16, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, LR+ and LR- of YOS was 90%, 98%, 90%, 98%, 45,9, and 0,1 respectively. Area under ROC curve was 0.982.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the potential utility of the Yale Observation Scale as a screening test for predicting serious illness in febrile children aged 3-24 months because it is simple, reproducible, cost-effective and have a high sensitivity.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Pedro Ochoa Allemant, Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú

Médico Cirujano, Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú

Evelyn Obregón Julca, Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.

Médico Cirujano, Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.

Fiorella Nuñez del Prado Zora Carbajal, Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.

Médico Cirujano, Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.

María Cristina Ojeda Nieto, Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.

Médico Cirujano, Universidad de San Martin de Porres. Lima, Perú.

Marcial Anaya Pajuelo, Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza. Lima Perú.

Médico Pediatra del Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza. Lima Perú.

Downloads

Published

2014-12-31

How to Cite

1.
Ochoa Allemant P, Obregón Julca E, Nuñez del Prado Zora Carbajal F, Ojeda Nieto MC, Anaya Pajuelo M. Accuracy of the Yale Observation Scale as a Screening Test for Detecting Serious Illness in Febrile Infants. Rev Peru Pediatr [Internet]. 2014 Dec. 31 [cited 2025 May 23];67(2):67-7. Available from: https://pediatria.pe/index.php/pedperu/article/view/394

Issue

Vol. 67 Num. 2 (2014)

Section

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Categories

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors will retain the copyright and grant the right to publish their work in the journal while allowing third parties to share it under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

Articles are published under a Creative Commons license that allows sharing and adaptation with appropriate credit. CC BY 4.0 license. Available in English at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Authors may use other information disclosure formats as long as the initial publication in the journal is cited. The dissemination of the work through the Internet is recommended to increase citations and promote academic exchanges.

The published content does not necessarily reflect the specific point of view of the journal, and the authors assume full responsibility for the content of their article.