Table 2: Age-specific frequency of clinical features of meningococcal disease prior to hospital admission.

		<1 year %	1 to 4 years %	5 to 14 years %	15 to 16 years %
Early features
	Leg pain	5.1	30.6	62.4	53.3
	Thirst	3.4	6.4	11.4	12.6
	Diarrhoea	9.9	7.8	3.1	5.5
	Abnormal colour	20.6	16.8	18.5	19.0
	Breathing difficulty	16.2	9.7	7.1	12.1
	Cold extremities	44.0	46.7	34.9	44.4
'Classic' features
	Haemorrhagic rash	42.3	64.2	69.8	65.9
	Neck pain or stiffness	15.5	28.1	45.9	52.9
	Photophobia	24.5	24.1	26.4	35.5
	Bulging fontanelle	11.5	n/a	n/a	n/a
Late features
	Confusion or delirium	n/a	42.8	49.4	47.6
	Seizure	8.9	12.8	7.8	7.3
	Unconscious	7.0	9.1	5.9	15.1

Notes:
1. Percentages given are standardised to UK case-fatality - see text
2. Age-specific data on frequency of other symptoms are available from the authors.