Archives of disease in childhood
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A raised respiratory rate is a useful sign in the diagnosis of pneumonia in children. It was observed that children with malaria and other febrile illnesses may also present with a raised respiratory rate. To determine the extent to which increased body temperature contributes to the raised respiratory rate observed in these children the effect of change in body temperature on respiratory rate was measured in 186 sick Gambian children with a raised respiratory rate, including those with pneumonia or malaria. ⋯ It is concluded that respiratory rate is to some extent dependent on body temperature in children with febrile illnesses such as pneumonia and malaria, but that this does not alone account for the raised respiratory rate seen in these children. The effect of reduction in body temperature on respiratory rate does not help to distinguish children with pneumonia from those with malaria. A history of recent use of an antipyretic or other measures to control fever is important when evaluating children for possible pneumonia.
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The causes and outcome of cardiopulmonary arrests were studied in a paediatric hospital over a 12 month period. Forty five resuscitation attempts were made involving 41 children and one adult. Twenty eight (68%) of the children were under 1 year of age and 10 (24%) were neonates. ⋯ There were no survivors from resuscitation attempts longer than 30 minutes. At 12 months after cardiopulmonary resuscitation 15 (37%) of the children were still alive. The 11 children who had been neurologically normal before the arrest showed no evidence of neurological damage after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation.