Risk stratification tool for children aged 5-11 years with suspected sepsis
Risk stratification tool for children aged 5-11 years with suspected sepsis
Category | Age | High Risk Criteria | Moderate to high risk criteria | Low Risk Criteria |
Behaviour | Any | Objective evidence of altered behaviour or mental state Appears ill to a healthcare professional Does not wake or if roused does not stay awake | Not behaving normally Decreased activity Parent or carer concern that the child is behaving differently from usual | Behaving normally |
Respiratory | Any
| Oxygen saturation of less than 90% in air or increased oxygen requirement over baseline
| Oxygen saturation of less than 92% in air or increased oxygen requirement over baseline
| No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met |
Aged 5 years | Raised respiratory rate: 29 breaths per minute or more | Raised respiratory rate: 24-28 breaths per minute | No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met | |
Aged 6 – 7 years |
Raised respiratory rate: 27 breaths per minute or more | Raised respiratory rate: 24-26 breaths per minute | No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met | |
Aged 8–11 years | Raised respiratory rate: 25 breaths per minute or more
| Raised respiratory rate: 22-24 breaths per minute | No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met | |
Circulation and hydration | Any | Heart rate less than 60 beats per minute | Capillary refill time of 3 seconds or more Reduced urine output For catheterised patients, passed less than 1 ml/kg of urine per hour | No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met |
Aged 5 years | Raised heart rate: 130 beats per minute or more | Raised heart rate: 120-129 beats per minute | No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met | |
Aged 6-7 years | Raised heart rate: 120 beats per minute or more | Raised heart rate: 110-119 beats per minute | No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met | |
Aged 8-11 years | Raised heart rate: 115 beats per minute or more | Raised heart rate: 105-114 beats per minute | No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met | |
Skin | Any | Mottled or ashen appearance Cyanosis of skin, lips or tongue Non-blanching rash of skin | ||
Temperature | Any | Tympanic temperature less than 36°C | ||
Other | Any | Leg pain Cold hands or feet | No high risk or moderate to high risk criteria met |
The UK Sepsis Trust have produced a form for evaluation of possible sepsis for use in primary care (2):
Reference:
- NICE. Suspected sepsis: recognition, diagnosis and early management. NICE guideline NG51. Published July 2016, last updated March 2024
- UK Sepsis Trust. The Sepsis Manual. General Practice recognition & management of Sepsis in adults and children and young people over 12 years. 7th edition. 2024
Related pages
Create an account to add page annotations
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page