Review: capillary refill time, abnormal skin turgor, and abnormal respiratory pattern are useful signs for detecting dehydration in children
Q What is the accuracy of signs, symptoms, and laboratory tests for detecting dehydration in children?
METHODS
Data sources:
Medline (1966 to April 2003), Cochrane Library, reference lists, and experts in the field.
Study selection and assessment:
studies in any language that compared signs, symptoms, and laboratory values with a recognised gold standard for diagnosing dehydration (rehydration weight minus acute weight divided by rehydration weight) in children (0–18 y). Study quality was ranked from highest (level 1 = independent, blind comparison of test with a valid gold standard) to lowest (level 5 = non-independent comparison of test with an uncertain standard of validity, which may incorporate the test result into the gold standard).
Outcomes:
sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LRs).
MAIN RESULTS
13 studies (n = 1246) met the selection criteria (4 intermediate …
