title: Clinical algorithms for the identification of sick newborns in community-based settings.
abstract: Clinical algorithms can be powerful tools for the identification of sick newborns at risk of neonatal mortality. Several studies have evaluated clinical signs for newborns aged 0-60 days to identify severe illness; however, few studies have focused specifically on the most vulnerable time period for neonatal death, the first week of life. Therefore, we reviewed the studies that evaluated clinical signs in newborns 0-60 days, focusing on infants 0 to <7 days. Based on a comparison of relevant studies, we then identified the common, important clinical signs shown to be useful for the identification of at-risk newborns by health workers in community-based and low-resource settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that further work is urgently needed to develop a clinical algorithm for widespread validation in various community-based settings, which focuses specifically on newborns <7 days at risk of early neonatal mortality.
authors: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. beena.kamath@cchmc.org
authors: Beena D
authors: BD
authors: Kamath-Rayne
authors: Emily R
authors: ER
authors: MacGuire
authors: Elizabeth M
authors: EM
authors: McClure
authors: Robert L
authors: RL
authors: Goldenberg
authors: Alan H
authors: AH
authors: Jobe
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000465:Algorithms; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D003150:Community Health Workers; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods