The PERCH case definition (Table 2 ) was based on the 2005 World Health Organization (WHO) clinical definition of severe and very severe pneumonia [8 (link)]. The definition relies on the presence of prespecified clinical signs, without information from chest radiograph (CXR) or pulse oximetry. The PERCH enrollment period predated the 2013 reclassification of severe and very severe pneumonia by the WHO [12 ].
Through a series of teleconferences and 2 face-to-face meetings between all PERCH principal investigators (PIs), consensus was achieved on how to elicit, recognize, and interpret each of the signs and symptoms comprising the PERCH clinical case definition (Table 2 ), and on the choice of methods and equipment for obtaining key clinical measurements (pulse oximetry, anthropometry, respiratory rate) and clinical samples (nasopharyngeal [NP] and oropharyngeal [OP] swabs, induced sputum [IS], lung aspirates, blood, urine).
Training materials and advice were sought from a wide variety of sources (see Acknowledgments). Many of the clinical video clips, audio recordings and photographs were recorded at PERCH sites by the principal trainer (J. C.), with written informed consent from the patient’s parents or guardians.
Through a series of teleconferences and 2 face-to-face meetings between all PERCH principal investigators (PIs), consensus was achieved on how to elicit, recognize, and interpret each of the signs and symptoms comprising the PERCH clinical case definition (
Training materials and advice were sought from a wide variety of sources (see Acknowledgments). Many of the clinical video clips, audio recordings and photographs were recorded at PERCH sites by the principal trainer (J. C.), with written informed consent from the patient’s parents or guardians.
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