A Study on Comparison Between Paediatric Advanced Warning Score And Paediatric Early Warning Score In Predicting Intensive Care Unit Amissions In Infants And Children With Respiratory Distress

This prospective observational study compares the effectiveness of the Paediatric Advanced Warning Score (PAWS) and the Paediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS) in predicting Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) admissions among infants and children presenting with respiratory distress. Conducted over a 1.5Year period (2025–2027) at the Emergency Department and PICU of VMKVMCH, Salem, the study includes 250 children aged 1 month to 12 years.

Both PAWS and PEWS are applied within 15 minutes of presentation using structured clinical parameters. The primary outcome is PICU admission, and the predictive performance of both scores is evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and ROC curve analysis. Statistical analysis will be performed using SPSS software.

The study aims to determine whether PAWS, which incorporates additional physiological parameters such as oxygen saturation, temperature, and AVPU scale, offers superior predictive accuracy compared to PEWS. The findings are expected to guide clinicians in early identification of critically ill children with respiratory distress and support the adoption of a more effective early warning system in pediatric emergency care