title: A screening tool for dengue fever in children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dengue fever (DF) is a significant public health issue in Asia. We aimed to use clinical and laboratory data to derive a rapid and accurate case-finding tool for DF in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study used 24 DF-related characteristics and clinical features (17 clinical; 7 laboratory) of 177 pediatric patients (69 diagnosed with DF). Data were psychometrically evaluated using a Rasch measurement model, and their values for predicting DF risk were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 14-item scale (DF-14) fit the measurement model in assessing the likelihood of DF. When a cutoff point of -1.15 (in logit) of the DF-14 scale was used, the sensitivity was 0.76 and the specificity was 0.76. The area under the curve was 0.93 (95% confidence interval: 0.89-0.97). The DF-2 scale, comprised of white blood cell and platelet counts, was simple but clinically useful.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Simple laboratory data, such as those in the DF-2 and DF-14 scales, are useful for the early detection of DF risk in children. The DF-14 scale helps discriminate DF from other febrile illnesses and may eliminate the need for a costly and time-consuming dengue confirmation test.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Chi-Mei Medical Cente, Chia-Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Pin
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Tsair-Wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: Hung-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shih-Bin
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Chih-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001208:Asia; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D015510:Clinical Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D003715:Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity