Comparison of children with a known S aureus focus and unknown focus
| Known focus (n = 52) | Unknown focus (n = 45) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haemoglobin values are given as mean (SD); white cell counts given as geometric mean (SD). | |||
| *Denotes values given as median (interquartile range). | |||
| †This group includes 13 children who died within 48 hours of admission. | |||
| Duration of illness (days)* | 4.5 (3–7) | 3 (2–5) | 0.014 |
| Age at presentation (mth)* | 32.5 (5.5–78.5) | 10 (0.5–26) | 0.0055 |
| Duration of in-patient stay (days)* | 11.5 (7.5–26.0) | 5.0 (2.0–12.0)† | 0.0001 |
| Malnutrition (excluding neonates) | 6 (11.5%) | 16 (35.6%) | 0.0048 |
| Pneumonia | 9 (17.3%) | 17 (37.8%) | 0.038 |
| Gastroenteritis | 5 (9.6%) | 12 (26.7%) | 0.034 |
| Admission haemoglobin (g/l) | 97 (27) | 104 (32) | 0.29 |
| Admission white cell (× 109/l) | 15.3 (1.7) | 15.3 (1.8) | 0.97 |
| Nosocomial acquisition | 5 (9.6%) | 5 (11.1%) | 1.00 |
| Malaria slide positive | 6 (11.5%) | 4 (8.9%) | 0.75 |
| Male | 24 (46.2%) | 21 (46.7%) | 0.96 |
| Mortality | 3 (5.8%) | 21 (46.7%) | <0.0001 |