Telephone Out Patient Score: The Derivation and Validation of a Telephone Follow-up Assessment Tool for Use in Clinical Research in Children With Croup.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to derive a simple clinical scoring instrument for assessing children with croup by telephone for use in clinical research studies.

METHODS: We reviewed published literature on croup scores, surveyed experienced pediatric emergency nurses and physicians, and conducted a prospective cohort study. Score items were derived from published literature and surveys of experienced clinicians. We enrolled children with croup attending an urban pediatric emergency department. Families of children enrolled were contacted daily by telephone and asked standardized questions about their child's clinical symptoms and family functioning. Data from this survey were used to derive the clinical score.

RESULTS: We identified 11 unique croup scores from the literature and interviewed 6 experienced clinicians. We enrolled 330 children and achieved complete follow-up for 301. Of the various groupings of items and duration of assessment, the 2-item score (barky cough and stridor) was the simplest and most reliable. Three days of follow-up yielded optimal correlations.

CONCLUSIONS: We derived a 2-item Telephone Out Patient score assessed daily for 3 days after an emergency department visit. Validation of this score in a future, independent prospective cohort is needed.