Over a half century ago, Jackson et al. (8) developed a symptom scoring system to differentiate adults with viral URIs from other conditions. For that study, adult volunteers were randomized to have either saline solution or saline solution containing filtered nasal secretions from individuals with "typical colds" instilled in their noses. For the next 14 d, the study participants rated the severity of 12 symptoms of URI on a 0 -3 scale. Those who received the filtered nasal secretions had significantly more severe symptoms than those receiving saline alone; a total symptom severity score of Ն14 was found to be the best cut-off value for defining a URI. This symptom scoring system, commonly referred to as the "Jackson score," continues to be used in studies on URIs in adults (9) . Because the presence of some of the symptoms in the score, such as chilliness and myalgia, may be difficult to detect in preverbal children, the use of the Jackson score in pediatric studies may be limited. Other investigators have characterized symptom patterns in children and adults with known viral URIs (6, 10, 11) . There has been little effort to differentiate symptoms among pediatric patients with a documented viral URI from those of children who have some features of a URI but in whom no virus is detected. Thus, there is a need for a validated symptom checklist, or prediction rule, that accurately predicts the presence of a community-acquired viral URI in children enrolled in clinical studies.