Children's characteristics.
| Variables | Derivation studya (n = 256) | Validation studya (n = 156) |
|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic | ||
| Median age, months (IQR) | 21 (9 to 35) | 24 (12 to 37) |
| Sex, male | 51 | 54 |
| Ethnicity, white | 82 | 75 |
| Mean Townsend deprivation score | 2.18 | 2.0 |
| Attends day care, nursery or school | 44 | 58 |
| Lives with a resident smoker | 47 | 36 |
| Clinical history | ||
| Mean number of preschool children per session | 7.1 | 4.7 |
| Mean number recruited per session | 2.1 | 0.8 |
| GP consultations in the preceding yearb | ||
| (0–1) | 27 | 25 |
| (2–4) | 39 | 40 |
| (> 4) | 34 | 35 |
| Cough was main reason for consultation | 66 | 66 |
| Median duration of cough prior to recruitment, days | 5 | 7 |
| First clinician contact for the cough | 71 | 82 |
| Personal history of atopyc | 29 | 32 |
| Family history of atopyd | 62 | 60 |
| Clinician assessing child | ||
| GP only | 96 | 95 |
| Clinical examination | ||
| Illness severity | ||
| Mild | 77 | 76 |
| Moderate | 22 | 23 |
| Severe | 1 | 1 |
| Abnormal chest signs | 22 | 26 |
| Formal thermometry | 24 | 20 |
| Fever (clinical judgment or thermometry) | 11 | 12 |
| Tachypnoea | 9 | 5 |
| Clinical diagnosis | ||
| Classification of cough: URTIe | 74 | 77 |
| Treatment | ||
| Antibiotics | 18 | 24 |
| Bronchodilators | 13 | 9 |
| Post consultation cough duration | ||
| Days taken for proportion to resolve | ||
| 0.25 | 6 | 5 |
| 0.5 | 10 | 9 |
| 0.75 | 16 | 15 |
| Reconsultations | ||
| Proportion with reconsultations | 19 | 23 |
| Complications | ||
| Proportion with complications | 10 | 12 |