Feverish illness in children: assessment and initial management in children up to 5 years
| Date published: | May 2007 |
| State: | Published |
Feverish illness in young children is a great concern for parents and carers and is a significant diagnostic challenge for healthcare professionals. It is the second most common medical complaint presenting to emergency departments and it is a frequent cause for admission. The assessment of illness severity and clinical signs is most challenging in young children.
Feverish illness in young children is most frequently caused by self-limiting viral infections. However, some viral infections do lead to more serious illnesses requiring support and treatment in hospital. In addition, fever may be a presenting feature of bacterial illnesses such as meningitis, septicaemia, urinary tract infections and pneumonia. Feverish illness may be associated with a variety of more severe signs and symptoms such as cough, breathlessness, vomiting, diarrhoea or convulsions; many symptoms and signs are non-specific and may offer no clue to the cause of the fever. The challenge is to distinguish between mild or moderate illness and more severe illness.
Guidance on the following aspects of care will be provided:
- The accuracy of different measurements of body temperature
- In a child presenting with fever, identification of signs and symptoms
- Identification of which clinical signs and symptoms would direct the healthcare professional to carry out further investigations
- When a child presenting with a fever should be started on a treatment.
The following documents are freely available to download in PDF format from the NICE website
BMJ Summary published 2 June 2007
For general enquiries about this guideline please email: enquiries@ncc-wch.org.uk.
Updated 16 October 2008