Abstract

A scoring chart for sick children was designed using the vital signs of temperature, respiratory and pulse rates, and the central nervous system. The scoring chart was used on 68 sick children who had been randomly selected from a child welfare clinic in Lagos. Analyses of the charts showed that although values overlapped when related to clinical impression, there was an inverse correlation with the severity of the illness. The correlation coefficient between the doctors' and nurses' scores was high. Despite the need for further modification and investigation the scoring chart was promising as a screening tool for use by people who were not doctors and, possibly in some situations, by those who were not nurses.