title: Predictors of death in under-five children with diarrhoea admitted to a critical care ward in an urban hospital in Bangladesh.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinical and laboratory predictors of death in hospitalized under-five children with diarrhoea.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective cohort study carried out in the Special Care Ward (SCW) of the Dhaka Hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka, Bangladesh. All admitted diarrhoeal children of both sexes, aged 0-59 months, from September 2007 through December 2007 were enrolled. We compared and analysed factors among diarrhoeal children who died (n = 29) with those who survived (n = 229).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for potential confounders (infusion of intravenous fluid and immature PMN), absent peripheral pulse even after complete rehydration (OR 10.9, 95% CI 2.1-56.8; p < 0.01), severe malnutrition (OR 7.9, 95% CI 1.8-34.8; p < 0.01), hypoxaemia (OR 8.5, 95% CI 1.0-75.0; p = 0.05), radiological lobar pneumonia (OR 17.8, 95% CI 3.7-84.5; p < 0.01) and hypernatraemia (OR 15.8, 95% CI 3.0-81.8; p < 0.01) were independently associated with deaths among diarrhoeal children admitted to SCW.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thus, the absence of peripheral pulses even after full rehydration, severe malnutrition, hypoxaemia, lobar pneumonia and hypernatraemia are independent predictors of death among the under-five children with diarrhoea admitted to critical care ward of a resource-limited setting in Bangladesh.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Sciences Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDR,B), Dhaka, Bangladesh. chisti@icddrb.org
authors.forename: Mohammod J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chisti
authors.forename: Mark A C
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pietroni
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Pradip K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Bardhan
authors.forename: Mohammed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Salam
mesh_terms: D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006955:Hypernatremia / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D016019:Survival Analysis