Application of Step-by-Step and Paediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Clinical Decision Aids in the management of young febrile infants in a UK cohort

Published Date: 06th October 2025

Publication Authors: O'Leary. C, Bowness. K

Background Young febrile infants are at high risk of invasive bacterial infections (IBIs). Clinical Decision Aids (CDA) such as the Step-by-Step and Paediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) use Procalcitonin (PCT), limiting their application in settings without PCT access. This study aimed to test the performance of these CDAs in a UK cohort.

Methods This was a planned analysis of the Febrile Infant Diagnostic Assessment and Outcome Study, a large, prospective multicentre observational study conducted across over 30 sites in the UK. Febrile infants (0–90 days of age) with complete biomarker data, who also underwent PCT testing, were included. Two CDAs, PECARN and Step-by-Step, were applied to the cohort, using their recommended low-risk criteria. The diagnostic performance of the CDAs was analysed.

Results Of the 1527 infants who completed biomarker testing in the main study, 442 had PCT testing and were included, 22 (5%) were diagnosed with an IBI. PECARN and Step-by-Step CDAs demonstrated sensitivities of 1.00 (95% CI: 0.85 to 1.00) and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.77 to 1.00) respectively. The PECARN CDA performed with a specificity of 0.14 (95% CI: 0.11 to 0.18) identifying 14% of the participants as low-risk and did not misclassify any infants. The Step-by-Step CDA performed with a specificity of 0.15 (95% CI: 0.12 to 0.19) identifying 14% of the participants as low-risk and misclassifying one participant with IBI as low-risk.

Conclusion Both PECARN and Step-by-Step CDAs demonstrated high sensitivity for detecting IBI in our cohort. While specificity was relatively low, these tools could potentially identify a subset of low-risk infants suitable for less intensive management.

Umana, E. et al.; O'Leary, C. (Coll.); Bowness, K. (Coll.). (2025). Application of Step-by-Step and Paediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Clinical Decision Aids in the management of young febrile infants in a UK cohort. Emergency Medicine Journal. Online First (06 October 2025) [Online]. Available at: 10.1136/emermed-2025-214876 [Accessed 17 December 2025].

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