Predicting the severity of dengue fever in children on admission based on clinical features and laboratory indicators: application of classification tree analysis.

Background: Dengue fever is a re-emerging viral disease commonly occurring in tropical and subtropical areas. The clinical features and abnormal laboratory test results of dengue infection are similar to those of other febrile illnesses; hence, its accurate and timely diagnosis for providing appropriate treatment is difficult. Delayed diagnosis may be associated with inappropriate treatment and higher risk of death.

Accuracy of commercially available c-reactive protein rapid tests in the context of undifferentiated fevers in rural Laos.

Background: C-Reactive Protein (CRP) has been shown to be an accurate biomarker for discriminating bacterial from viral infections in febrile patients in Southeast Asia. Here we investigate the accuracy of existing rapid qualitative and semi-quantitative tests as compared with a quantitative reference test to assess their potential for use in remote tropical settings.

Methods: Blood samples were obtained from consecutive patients recruited to a prospective fever study at three sites in rural Laos.