No abstract

both meningococcal septicaemia and meningitis. Five symptoms that may be non-specific signs of febrile illness in children were also included as 'red herrings'. Results The survey had 41 participants: 28 doctors, 2 nurses and 11 final-year medical students (with exposure to paediatrics). The most common subspecialty amongst respondents was general paediatrics ( 19), followed by paediatric emergency medicine (8). 90% of participants had seen less than 10 meningococcal cases, while 4.9% had seen more than 20.Table 1. lists each clinical symptom/sign and the percentage of participants that selected its association with meningococcal septicaemia.Leg pain was selected as a 'red flag for meningococcal septicaemia' by only 4 participants (9.8%). All participants that did not identify it as a red flag had seen <10 cases in their career, including senior specialty registrars.Conclusions This survey highlights the limited awareness of leg pain as a sign of meningococcal septicemia amongst finalyear medical students, clinicians and paediatric nurses. Education is necessary to ensure all healthcare professionals working in acute and emergency pediatrics, including primary care, are aware of the predictive value of this symptom to enable appropriate suspicion and timely diagnosis.