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Palm kernel shell and coconut shell are used as a precursor for the production of activated carbon, a way of mitigating the tons of waste produced in Ghana. The raw Palm kernel shell and coconut shell were activated chemically using H3PO4. A maximum activated carbon yield of 26.3 g was obtained for Palm kernel shell and 22.9 g for coconut shell at 400oC, an impregnation ratio of 1.2 and 1-hour carbonization time. Scanning electron microscopy reveals well-developed cavities of the H3PO4 activated coconut shell and Palm kernel shell compared to the non-activated carbon. Iodine number of 743.02 mg/g and 682.11 mg/g, a porosity of 0.31 and 0.49 and the electrical conductivity of 2010 μS/cm and 778 μS/cm was obtained for the AC prepared from the coconut shell and Palm kernel shell respectively. The results of this work show that high-quality activated carbon can be manufactured locally from coconut shell and Palm kernel shell waste, and a scale-up of this production will go a long way to reduce the tons of coconut shell and Palm kernel shell waste generated in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disintegration of military regimes and one-party rule occurring across Africa in the early 1990s allowed for the mushrooming of numerous new media initiatives and the resuscitation of hitherto dormant media operations. The enthusiasm was fuelled by promises of freedom of speech and prospects of the media becoming an autonomous fourth actor on the public stage. It was envisioned by many that the media would reject the ethos prevailing under hegemonic rule and adopt international norms. But nearly two decades later, media people and their organisations in sub-Saharan Africa are still entangled in a labyrinth of ethical dilemma. One of the big issues begging further research and reflection is whether to localise or globalise ethical discourse and practice. How far should indigenous cultural values inform journalism ethics? And, how can this be negotiated in a rapidly globalising environment? This paper uses the Zambian experience to advance the position that glocalisation - the hybridisation of ethical norms between the local and the global -provides the most enduring and acceptable foundation for ethical theorising and practice available to media professionals on the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The lack of cheap, easy-to-use, rapid diagnostic tests has led to the development of several rapid diagnostic tests for taeniosis and cysticercosis, such as the new prototype two-strip, Taenia solium point of care test (TS-POC), developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, USA) and the Technical University of Munich (Germany). It detects antibodies against taeniosis (TS-POC T) and cysticercosis (TS-POC CC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the TS POC for taeniosis and cysticercosis diagnosis in a community setting. Methods: A community-based study was conducted in Sinda district, Eastern Province, Zambia. A sample of 1254 randomly-recruited participants was tested with the TS-POC. All TS-POC test-positive, and 20% of test-negative participants were selected for stool and serum sampling. Reference tests included; recombinant rES33 enzyme-linked immune-electro-transfer blot (rES33 EITB), copro polymerase chain reaction (copro-PCR), and copro antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Copro-Ag ELISA) for taeniosis, the lentil-lectin glycoprotein EITB (LLGP EITB), recombinant T24H EITB (rT24H EITB), and the serum B60/158 ELISA (Serum-Ag ELISA) for cysticercosis. Performance characteristics were estimated using a Bayesian approach with probabilistic constraints. Results: In total, 1254 participants were tested with 1249 giving a valid TS-POC test. Thirteen, tested positive for taeniosis while 1236 tested negative using the TS-POC T. For cysticercosis, 177 tested positive while 1072 tested negative. Based on 161 participants with complete data, the estimated sensitivity and specificity for the TS-POC T test were 38% (95% CI: 5-93%) and 99% (95% CI: 98-100%), respectively. For cysticercosis, based on 255 complete cases, the estimated sensitivity and specificity of the TS-POC CC test were 35% (95% CI: 14-63%) and 87% (95% CI: 83-90%), respectively. Conclusion: We highlight the challenge of high variability in the number of positive cases detected and discordance of test results among T. solium taeniosis reference tests and recommend multi-testing and further investigation on the test combination that gives the best diagnostic performance during diagnostic evaluation. Diagnostic performance needs to be improved potentially by bench marking antigen concentration in the strip against existing cysticercosis tests such as the LLGP and rT24HEITB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Zimbabwe is endemic for lymphatic filariasis (LF) with 39 districts identified for mass drug administration (MDA) in 2014. The objective of this study was to reassess the current population requiring MDA., Methods: The LF confirmatory mapping method was used to evaluate the prevalence of circulating filarial antigens (CFA) among school-aged children (9-14 years) in previously endemic districts. This was achieved through a cross-sectional survey between 2021 and 2023, applying a cluster sampling approach across 39 districts, targeting 18,720 children to assess ongoing LF transmission., Results: he findings revealed a significant decline in LF prevalence, with an overall rate of 0.43%. Importantly, 82.05% of districts previously identified as endemic were reclassified as non-endemic. Only seven districts retained endemic status, necessitating continued MDA using the triple-drug therapy regimen. Population estimates based on 2022 census data indicated that 1.19 million individuals across these districts require MDA, representing an 84.4% reduction compared to previous estimates. Despite the progress, the persistence of low-level transmission in certain districts highlights the need for sustained surveillance and morbidity management services, including hydrocele surgery and lymphedema care., Conclusion: There was a significant reduction in the number of people requiring MDA. The decline in LF endemicity is attributed to a combination of factors, including prior rounds of MDA and vector control initiatives including historical interventions, such as DDT spraying against Human African Trypanosomiasis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest MJB is an Associate Editor of IJID. All remaining authors have declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Assessing the feasibility of 2030 as a target date for global elimination of trachoma, and identification of districts that may require enhanced treatment to meet World Health Organization (WHO) elimination criteria by this date are key challenges in operational planning for trachoma programmes. Here we address these challenges by prospectively evaluating forecasting models of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) prevalence, leveraging ensemble-based approaches. Seven candidate probabilistic models were developed to forecast district-wise TF prevalence in 11 760 districts, trained using district-level data on the population prevalence of TF in children aged 1-9 years from 2004 to 2022. Geographical location, history of mass drug administration treatment, and previously measured prevalence data were included in these models as key predictors. The best-performing models were included in an ensemble, using weights derived from their relative likelihood scores. To incorporate the inherent stochasticity of disease transmission and challenges of population-level surveillance, we forecasted probability distributions for the TF prevalence in each geographic district, rather than predicting a single value. Based on our probabilistic forecasts, 1.46% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.43-1.48%) of all districts in trachoma-endemic countries, equivalent to 172 districts, will exceed the 5% TF control threshold in 2030 with the current interventions. Global elimination of trachoma as a public health problem by 2030 may require enhanced intervention and/or surveillance of high-risk districts., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. A. V. reports funding for this supplement provided by the BMGF via INV-030046 to the NTD Modelling Consortium, funding for this supplement provided by the Li Ka Shing Foundation via Professor Hollingsworth research funding, and funding for this project provided by Children's Investment Foundation (CIFF) Accelerate Trachoma Elimination funding. T. D. H. reports that the study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation via grant number INV-030046 to the NTD Modelling Consortium: Informing program decision-making. T. P. reports funding from the NEI, NIH (NIH NEI grant number R01EY025350) and funding from CIFF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (grant number INV-030046). T. L. reports funding from the NEI and NIH (grant number R01EY025350) and funding from CIFF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (grant number INV-030046). S. B. is also supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences [NIH NIGMS R35GM147702] and the National Eye Institute [NIH NEI K12 EY031372] at the NIH. P. J. H. reports salary and travel support from Pfizer, Inc., through a grant to The Task Force for Global Health and a donation of the antibiotic azithromycin from Pfizer through The Task Force for Global Health for global trachoma elimination purposes. K. K. R. reports being an employee of the International Trachoma Initiative, a program of The Task Force for Global Health, which receives an operating budget and research funds from Pfizer Inc, the manufacturers of Zithromax (azithromycin). B. F. A. reports funding to their institution from NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), payments to cover airfare and hotel to attend scientific meetings in Baltimore and Atlanta from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and honoraria payments for serving on a trial DSMB from the NIH. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

Climate change poses a significant threat to endemic and endangered montane bird species with limited elevation and temperature ranges. Understanding their responses to changes in climate is essential for informing conservation actions. This study focused on the montane dwelling Yellow-throated Apalis ( Apalis flavigularis ) in Malawi, aiming to identify key factors affecting its distribution and predicting its potential distribution under different climate change scenarios. Using an ensemble species distribution modeling approach, we found that the mean temperature of the driest quarter (Bio9), mean temperature of the wettest quarter (Bio8), and precipitation seasonality (Bio15) were the most important variables that influenced the distribution of this species. Across future climate scenarios, the species' geographic range declined where range losses varied from 57.74% (2050 RCP 6.0) to 82.88% (2070 RCP 6.0). We estimate its current range size to be 549 km 2 which is lower than some previous estimates of its spatial distribution. Moreover, our projections indicate that under future climate scenarios, the species will shift to higher elevations with a large proportion of suitable areas located outside forests, posing challenges for adaptation. Our results suggest that the species may be under greater threat than previously thought; hence, urgent conservation actions are required. We recommend reinforcing the protection of areas predicted to remain suitable under future climate scenarios and the development of a species conservation action plan., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The practical utilization of Si electrodes is hindered by their substantial volume expansion during alloying and dealloying processes, which causes mechanical damage and separation from Cu current collectors. To alleviate the problem of Si composite detachment from Cu current collectors, the surface of the Cu current collectors is modified using atmospheric oxygen plasma. Plasma treatment improves the wetting ability of the Cu current collectors and, consequently, the coating quality of the Si electrodes. The uniform distribution of the Si electrode components reduces the sheet resistance and improves the adhesion properties of the Si electrodes containing surface-modified Cu current collectors. As a result, the volume expansion of Si during alloying and dealloying is reduced; this results in an excellent rate capability of 1584 mA h g -1 at a current density of 3.6 A g -1 (135% that of bare Cu) and excellent cycle performance of 1545 mA h g -1 after 300 cycles (Si electrodes with bare Cu exhibit 930 mA h g -1 ). Therefore, the developed plasma treatment method for Cu current collectors is expected to be an economical and efficient approach for improving the Li-ion battery performance.

Contract Farming Arrangements (CFA) can be viewed as a pro-active response to lack of reliable markets and steeply rising input prices. CFA proponents argue that CFA can enhance technical efficiency of tobacco farming and productivity. Thus, in this study, the paper interrogates the effect of CFA on tobacco productivity in southern Africa: Hurungwe district of Zimbabwe. The study controls for both observable and unobservable factors, like age, education, and ability to use information-unknown to the researchers, explaining farmers decision to participate in CFA. The study uses the Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model, which also acts as a robust check for the Propensity Score Matching techniques as it studies both observable and unobservable factors influencing CFA participation. Based on the ESR model, this study finds that CFA improves tobacco productivity by 39%. Nonetheless, CFA is labour-intensive. Hence, women and the elderly are less likely to participate in CFA, suggesting the need to develop gender-sensitive labour-saving technologies. Even though tobacco products kill their users, we would like to explore whether CFA can make farming more productive or not. We hypothesize that if tobacco farming would be more productive, then perhaps farmers will have enough money to buy food so they can be healthier even if the tobacco leaves, they grow can kill people elsewhere. Thus, these results inform CFA-related policies that improve smallholder tobacco productivity in Southern Africa. With existing tobacco controls, these results are equally valid to other cash crops where most developing economies anticipate the majority resource-constrained smallholder farmers to shift their production systems entirely away from tobacco in the immediate future., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Purpose: Population-based prevalence surveys are essential for decision-making on interventions to achieve trachoma elimination as a public health problem. This paper outlines the methodologies of Tropical Data, which supports work to undertake those surveys., Methods: Tropical Data is a consortium of partners that supports health ministries worldwide to conduct globally standardised prevalence surveys that conform to World Health Organization recommendations. Founding principles are health ministry ownership, partnership and collaboration, and quality assurance and quality control at every step of the survey process. Support covers survey planning, survey design, training, electronic data collection and fieldwork, and data management, analysis and dissemination. Methods are adapted to meet local context and needs. Customisations, operational research and integration of other diseases into routine trachoma surveys have also been supported., Results: Between 29 th February 2016 and 24 th April 2023, 3373 trachoma surveys across 50 countries have been supported, resulting in 10,818,502 people being examined for trachoma., Conclusion: This health ministry-led, standardised approach, with support from the start to the end of the survey process, has helped all trachoma elimination stakeholders to know where interventions are needed, where interventions can be stopped, and when elimination as a public health problem has been achieved. Flexibility to meet specific country contexts, adaptation to changes in global guidance and adjustments in response to user feedback have facilitated innovation in evidence-based methodologies, and supported health ministries to strive for global disease control targets.

In this study, a stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) and a Ag-Li alloy were formed through a simple slurry coating of silver (Ag) nanoparticles and Li nitrate (LiNO 3 ) on a Li metal surface (AgLN-coated Li). The Ag-Li alloy has a high Li diffusion coefficient, which allowed the inward transfer of Li atoms, thus allowing Li to be deposited below the alloy. Moreover, the highly conductive SEI enabled the fast diffusion of Li ions corresponding to the alloy. This inward transfer resulted in dendrite suppression and improved the Coulombic efficiency (CE). The AgLN-coated Li exhibited an initial capacity retention >81% and CE > 99.7 ± 0.2% over 500 cycles at a discharge capacity of 2.3 mA h cm -2 .

Objectives: This study was conducted to explore the epidemiology and microbiological pattern of the cholera outbreaks that occurred in Zimbabwe from 2018 to 2019., Study Setting and Design: This descriptive study used secondary data of 9971 out of 10 730 suspected cases from the Zimbabwean National Diseases Surveillance system and microbiology data of 241 out of 371 patients from the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory in Harare, for the period 5 September 2018 and 3 January 2019. Descriptive analysis was performed to describe the characteristics of the outbreak in terms of person, place and time., Results: A cumulative total of 10 730 suspected, 371 laboratory-confirmed cholera cases and 68 deaths were reported in Zimbabwe through the situation analysis report (sitrep). The attack rate during the outbreak was 174.6 per 100 000 with a case fatality rate of 0.63%. Most cases seen were among adults from Harare province. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing results showed that a multidrug resistant strain of Vibrio cholerae O1, Ogawa serotype was responsible for the outbreak. The treatment of cases was changed from the standard recommended medicine ciprofloxacin to azithromycin as confirmed by the antimicrobial sensitivity test results. Strategies employed to contain the outbreak included mass oral cholera vaccination in the hotspot areas of Harare, provision of improved and appropriate sanitation measures, provision of safe and adequate water, chlorination of water and improved waste management practice., Conclusions: The recurrence of a cholera outbreak is a global concern, especially with the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains of the causal organism. Improving water, sanitation, hygiene infrastructure, health system strengthening measures and inter-sectoral collaboration in responding to the cholera outbreak was key to controlling the outbreak., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Lithium metal is considered a next-generation anode material for high-voltage, high-energy-density batteries; however, its commercialization is limited because of dendrite formation during charging, which leads to short-circuiting and fire. Li metal is coated with a lithium zeolite Li 2 (Al 2 Si 4 O 12 ) (bikitaite - BKT) for dendrite suppression. The BKT-coated Li metal anode exhibits enhanced cycle performance for both Li/LMO (over 982 cycles) and Li/Li cells (over 2000 h at 0.52.0 mAh cm -2 and 693 h at 2.0 mAh cm -2 ). Moreover, the voltage profile of the Li/Li cells deviates from the conventional Li plating behavior. We hypothesize that this is due to the Li wetting of the BKT particles during plating, which leads to the formation of an interconnected three-dimensional (3D) Li network. Furthermore, BKT, a Li conductor, promotes even Li + -ion distribution during plating, resulting in the uniform deposition of Li and, consequently, suppressed dendrite formation. This work provides evidence that BKT can be potentially used in Li metal batteries.

Background: Zimbabwe suffers from regular outbreaks of typhoid fever (TF), worse since 2017. Most cases were in Harare and a vaccination campaign with Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) was conducted in March 2019. The vaccine effectiveness (VE) was assessed against culture-confirmed S. Typhi in children six months to 15 years and in individuals six months to 45 years in Harare., Methods: A matched case-control study was conducted in three urban suburbs of Harare targeted by the TCV vaccination campaign. Suspected TF cases were enrolled prospectively in four health facilities and were matched to facility (1:1) and community (1:5) controls., Findings: Of 504 suspected cases from July 2019 to March 2020, 148 laboratory-confirmed TF cases and 153 controls confirmed-negative were identified. One hundred and five (47 aged six months to 15 years) cases were age, sex, and residence matched with 105 facility-based controls while 96 cases were matched 1:5 by age, sex, and immediate-neighbour with 229 community controls. The adjusted VE against confirmed TF was 75% (95%CI: 1-94, p = 0.049) compared to facility controls, and 84% (95%CI: 57-94, p < 0.001) compared to community controls in individuals six months to 15 years. The adjusted VE against confirmed TF was 46% (95%CI: 26-77, p = 0.153) compared to facility controls, and 67% (95%CI: 35-83, p = 0.002) compared to community controls six months to 45 years old., Interpretation: This study confirms that one vaccine dose of TCV is effective to control TF in children between six months and 15 years old in an African setting., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Global elimination of trachoma as a public health problem was targeted for 2020. We reviewed progress towards the elimination of active trachoma by country and geographical group., Methods: In this retrospective analysis of national survey and implementation data, all countries ever known to be endemic for trachoma that had either implemented at least one trachoma impact survey shown in the publicly available Trachoma Atlas, or are in Africa were invited to participate in this study. Scale-up was described according to the number of known endemic implementation units and mass drug administration implementation over time. The prevalence of active trachoma-follicular among children aged 1-9 years (TF 1-9 ) from baseline, impact, and surveillance surveys was categorised and used to show programme progress towards reaching the elimination threshold (TF 1-9 <5%) using dot maps, spaghetti plots, and boxplots., Findings: We included data until Nov 10, 2021, for 38 countries, representing 2097 ever-endemic implementation units. Of these, 1923 (91·7%) have had mass drug administration. Of 1731 implementation units with a trachoma impact survey, the prevalence of TF 1-9 had reduced by at least 50% in 1465 (84·6%) implementation units and 1182 (56·4%) of 2097 ever-endemic implementation units had reached the elimination threshold. 2 years after reaching a TF 1-9 prevalence below 5%, most implementation units sustained this target; however, 58 (56·3%) of 103 implementation units in Ethiopia showed recrudescence., Interpretation: Global elimination of trachoma as a public health problem by 2020 was not possible, but this finding masks the great progress achieved. Implementation units in high baseline categories and recrudescent TF 1-9 might prolong the attainment of elimination of active trachoma. Elimination is delayed but, with an understanding of the patterns and timelines to reaching elimination targets and a commitment toward meeting future targets, global elimination can still be achieved by 2030., Funding: None., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Advances in SARS-CoV-2 sequencing have enabled identification of new variants, tracking of its evolution, and monitoring of its spread. We aimed to use whole genome sequencing to describe the molecular epidemiology of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and to inform the implementation of effective public health interventions for control in Zimbabwe., Methods: We performed a retrospective study of nasopharyngeal samples collected from nine laboratories in Zimbabwe between March 20 and Oct 16, 2020. Samples were taken as a result of quarantine procedures for international arrivals or to test for infection in people who were symptomatic or close contacts of positive cases. Samples that had a cycle threshold of less than 30 in the diagnostic PCR test were processed for sequencing. We began our analysis in July, 2020 (120 days since the first case), with a follow-up in October, 2020 (at 210 days since the first case). The phylogenetic relationship of the genome sequences within Zimbabwe and global samples was established using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods., Findings: Of 92 299 nasopharyngeal samples collected during the study period, 8099 were PCR-positive and 328 were available for sequencing, with 156 passing sequence quality control. 83 (53%) of 156 were from female participants. At least 26 independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into Zimbabwe in the first 210 days were associated with 12 global lineages. 151 (97%) of 156 had the Asp614Gly mutation in the spike protein. Most cases, 93 (60%), were imported from outside Zimbabwe. Community transmission was reported 6 days after the onset of the outbreak., Interpretation: Initial public health interventions delayed onset of SARS-CoV-2 community transmission after the introduction of the virus from international and regional migration in Zimbabwe. Global whole genome sequence data are essential to reveal major routes of spread and guide intervention strategies., Funding: WHO, Africa CDC, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, and Genome Research Limited., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Li metal thickness has been considered a key factor in determining the electrochemical performance of Li metal anodes. The use of thin Li metal anodes is a prerequisite for increasing the energy density of Li secondary batteries intended for emerging large-scale electrical applications, such as electric vehicles and energy storage systems. To utilize thin (20 μm thick) Li metal anodes in Li metal secondary batteries, we investigated the synergistic effect of a functional additive (Li nitrate, LiNO 3 ) and a dual-salt electrolyte (DSE) system composed of Li bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) and Li bis(oxalate)borate (LiBOB). By controlling the amount of LiNO 3 in DSE, we found that DSE containing 0.05 M LiNO 3 (DSE-0.05 M LiNO 3 ) significantly improved the electrochemical performance of Li metal anodes. DSE-0.05 M LiNO 3 increased the cycling performance by 146.3% [under the conditions of a 1C rate (2.0 mA cm -2 ), DSE alone maintained 80% of the initial discharge capacity up to the 205th cycle, whereas DSE-0.05 M LiNO 3 maintained 80% up to the 300th cycle] and increased the rate capability by 128.2% compared with DSE alone [the rate capability of DSE-0.05 M LiNO 3 = 50.4 mAh g -1 , and DSE = 39.3 mAh g -1 under 7C rate conditions (14.0 mA cm -2 )]. After analyzing the Li metal surface using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we were able to infer that the stabilized solid electrolyte interphase layer formed by the combination of LiNO 3 and the dual salt resulted in a uniform Li deposition during repeated Li plating/stripping processes.

Context: Revised Trauma Score (RTS) is a validated tool in assessing patients in a pre-hospital setting. There are limited data describing its potential use in guiding referral to intensive care., Aims: Trauma scoring systems require appropriate validation in a local setting before effective application. This work examines the applicability of RTS to a paediatric intensive care trauma population., Settings and Design: A retrospective record review of trauma patients admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital between 2011 and 2013 was performed., Subjects and Methods: The cohort was arbitrarily split into three subgroups based on RTS using the 33 rd and 66 th percentile values and groups compared. Outcome measures examined included mortality, age, gender, length of stay (LoS), duration of ventilation (DoV) and change in Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) from admission to discharge., Statistical Analysis Used: Categorical values examined with Fisher's exact test. Non-categorical values examined with the Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's multiple comparisons tests., Results: Of 919 children admitted, 165 admissions were secondary to trauma. Data necessary for calculation of RTS were available in 91 patients. The mean RTS was 5.3, 33 rd percentile was 4.7 and 66 th was 5.9. DoV (P = 0.0104) and LoS (P = 0.0395) were significantly different between intermediate- and low-risk groups as was change in GCS between low-risk and both other groups (P < 0.0001)., Conclusions: RTS is not predictive of mortality between high-risk (RTS < 4.09) and low-risk patients (RTS > 5.67) in this population. It may be useful in predicting other outcomes such as DoV and LoS., Competing Interests: None