George et al reported two Paediatric Emergency Triage (PET) scores, one with and one without laboratory values. These can help to identify a sick child who should receive more aggressive management. The authors are participants of the Fluid As Expansive Supportive Therapy (FEAST) trial.
Patient: sick child in Africa from 13 to 38 months of age
The PETaL score is the 8 -item PET score with additional laboratory (aL)
Parameters:
(1) axillary temperature in °C
(2) heart rate in beats per minute
(3) capillary refill time in seconds
(4) level of consciousness
(5) respiratory distress
(6) lung crepitations
(7) pallor
(8) pulse strength
(9) serum lactate in mmol/L
(10) arterial pH
(11) serum BUN in mg/dL
|
Parameter |
Finding |
Points |
|
axillary temperature |
<= 37°C |
1 |
|
|
> 37°C |
0 |
|
heart rate |
< 80 beats per minute |
2 |
|
|
80 to 104 beats per minute |
1 |
|
|
105 to 219 beats per minute |
0 |
|
|
>= 220 beats per minute |
2 |
|
capillary refill time |
< 2 seconds |
0 |
|
|
>= 2 seconds |
1 |
|
level of consciousness |
normal |
0 |
|
|
prostrate |
1 |
|
|
coma |
2 |
|
respiratory distress |
absent |
0 |
|
|
present |
1 |
|
lung crepitations |
absent |
0 |
|
|
present |
1 |
|
pallor |
absent |
0 |
|
|
present |
1 |
|
pulse strength |
normal to strong |
0 |
|
|
weak |
1 |
|
Parameter |
Finding |
Points |
|
serum lactate |
<= 5 mmol/L |
0 |
|
|
> 5 mmol/L |
2 |
|
arterial pH |
>= 7.2 |
0 |
|
|
< 7.2 |
1 |
|
serum BUN |
<= 20 mg/dL |
0 |
|
|
> 20 mg/dL |
1 |
total PETaL score =
= SUM(points for all 11 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 14
• The higher the score the sicker the child.
Performance:
• The area under the ROC curve was 0.82.
Specialty: Pedatrics
