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Volume 32, Number 2—February 2026
Research
Predictors of Fatal Outcomes among Pediatric Patients Hospitalized for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Sonora, Mexico, 2004–20241
, and Gerardo Álvarez-Hernández2
Table 1
Sociodemographic characteristics of children in study of predictors of fatal outcomes among pediatric patients hospitalized for Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Sonora, Mexico, 2004–2024*
| Characteristics | Fatal cases | Nonfatal cases | Total no. (%) | p value† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | 500 | |||
| M | 50 (50.5) | 219 (54.6) | 269 (53.8) | 0.50 |
| F |
49 (49.5) |
182 (45.4) |
231 (46.2) |
|
| Age range, y | 500 | |||
| 0–4 | 26 (26.3) | 86 (21.4) | 112 (22.4) | 0.41 |
| 5–9 | 34 (34.3) | 167 (41.7) | 201 (40.2) | |
| 10–14 | 27 (27.3) | 113 (28.2) | 140 (28.0) | |
| 15–19 | 12 (12.1) | 35 (8.7) | 47 (9.4) | |
| Median age, y (IQR) |
8.3 (4.1–12.3) |
8.3 (5.3–11.6) |
8.3 (5.3–11.8) |
0.72 |
| Residence | 500 | |||
| Urban | 80 (80.8) | 340 (84.8) | 420 (84.0) | 0.36 |
| Rural |
19 (19.2) |
61 (15.2) |
80 (16.0) |
|
| History of tick contact | 492 | |||
| Y | 86 (91.5) | 374 (94.0) | 460 (93.5) | 0.36 |
| N |
8 (8.5) |
24 (6.0) |
32 (6.5) |
|
| Socioeconomic status‡ | 499 | |||
| Insufficient | 82 (82.8) | 350 (87.5) | 432 (86.6) | 0.25 |
| Sufficient |
17 (17.2) |
50 (12.5) |
67 (13.4) |
|
| Ethnicity | 500 | |||
| Non-Indigenous | 83 (83.8) | 366 (91.3) | 449 (89.8) | 0.04 |
| Indigenous |
16 (16.2) |
35 (8.7) |
51 (10.2) |
|
| Weight | 260 | |||
| Underweight |
3 (8.3) |
17 (7.6) |
20 (7.7) |
0.75 |
| BMI or weight-for-length§ | 260 | |||
| Malnourished | 3 (3.8) | 16 (7.1) | 19 (7.3) | 0.73 |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. Bold font indicates statistical significance (p<0.05). BMI, body mass index; IQR, interquartile range. †Based on Fisher exact test, Pearson’s χ2, or Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance. ‡Hospital Infantil del Estado de Sonora classifies patients into 8 socioeconomic categories, which we dichotomized as having either sufficient or insufficient economic resources. §BMI was calculated for children >24 months of age; weight-for-length was calculated for children <24 months of age.
1Preliminary results from this study were presented at the Southeastern Pediatric Research Conference; June 6, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Conference; November 10, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
2These senior authors contributed equally to this article.