Modified respiratory distress assessment instrument score,predictor of outcome of acute lower respiratory tract infections in children

Objective: to determine the clinical utility of modified respiratory distress assessment instrument (rdai) score in predicting the short-term outcome of acute lower respiratory tract infections (alrtis) in children two months to two years of age. subjects and methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of paediatrics,services hospital,lahore from 04-08-2008 to 03-02-2009. a total 140 patients of acute lower respiratory tract infection (alrtis) in children from 2 months to 2 years of age were selected. alrti was diagnosed on the basis of fast breathing and lower chest indrawing as per who protocol system. modified rdai scoring was applied at the time of admission or soon after,before instituting treatment. results: mean age of the patients was observed as 7.94±6.4 months. total 99.3% patients were discharged and among those 77.9% were discharged within 72 hours of admission in hospital while 22.1% patients were discharged after 72 hours of hospital stay. there was only one expiry amounting to 0.7% of all cases. conclusion: it is concluded that modified rdai score may serve as a guide to clinician in recognizing categories of patients who require general or intensive care.