Sensitivity analyses of algorithm
| Outcomes | Sensitivity (95% CI) | Specificity (95% CI) | NPV (95% CI) | PPV (95% CI) | LR− (95% CI) | LR+ (95% CI) |
| Any serious infection (n=272) in all children (n=5517) | 97.1 (94.3 to 98.7) | 38.1 (36.8 to 39.5) | 99.6 (99.2 to 99.8) | 7.5 (6.7 to 8.5) | 0.1 (0.0 to 0.2) | 1.6 (1.5 to 1.6) |
| Any serious infection (n=210) in children seen only once (n=3942) | 97.1 (93.9 to 98.9) | 35.4 (33.9 to 37.0) | 99.5 (99.0 to 99.8) | 7.8 (6.8 to 8.9) | 0.1 (0.0 to 0.2) | 1.5 (1.5 to 1.6) |
| Any serious infection (n=174) in children <3 years (n=4128) | 96.0 (91.9 to 98.4) | 40.8 (39.3 to 42.3) | 99.6 (99.1 to 99.8) | 6.7 (5.7 to 7.7) | 0.1 (0.0 to 0.2) | 1.6 (1.6 to 1.7) |
| Any serious infection (n=75) in children at paediatric outpatient clinic (n=2895) | 98.7 (92.8 to 100.0) | 37.3 (35.5 to 39.1) | 99.6 (99.5 to 100.0) | 6.5 (5.2 to 7.8) | 0.0 (0.0 to 0.3) | 1.6 (1.5 to 1.6) |
| Any serious infection (n=197) in children at emergency department (n=2622) | 96.4 (92.8 to 98.6) | 38.3 (36.3 to 40.2) | 99.3 (98.5 to 99.7) | 7.8 (6.5 to 8.9) | 0.1 (0.0 to 0.2) | 1.6 (1.5 to 1.6) |
All diagnostic characteristics are given in percentage with their respective 95% CIs in brackets.
LR, likelihood ratio; NPV, negative predictive value; PPV, positive predictive value.