Clinical Models Improve Pediatric Referral Accuracy in Southeast Asia

Acute febrile illness remains a primary cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality in low-resource settings, where distinguishing self-limiting infections from life-threatening conditions is a constant clinical challenge [1, 2]. While early identification and management improve outcomes in septic patients, the lack of objective diagnostic tools often leads to either missed severe disease or the inappropriate use of secondary care resources [3, 4]. Current triage strategies frequently rely on broad clinical signs that lack the specificity needed to manage the high volume of patients seen in primary care [5]. Furthermore, underlying factors such as malnutrition can alter immune responses and mask typical clinical presentations, complicating the referral process [6]. To address this gap, researchers have developed and validated a refined clinical prediction model to better identify which febrile children require urgent escalation of care.