Accurate temperature measurement in children
Rectal thermometer in children < 3 y.o.
Oral thermometer in children > 5 y.o.
Axillary, temporal, tympanic thermometers are less accurate
Normal rectal temperature range
T/F Degree of fever correlates with severity of illness
False. The general appearance is a stronger indicator. So a low temperature does not negate a serious bacterial illness.
Fever mgmt recs: How? Pharm vs non pharm
Causes of fever in neonates (2)
Congenital or acquired infections
1) late onset group B strep
2) acquired anatomic or physiologic dysfunction, i.e. renal
Causes of fever in all children (11)
infants with meningitis don’t present with?
nuchal rigidity
do thorough neuro exam, fontanelles,
Definition of fever without a focus/source
Most infants < 90 days have causative agent as ________, however, still need to rule out _____ disease so require a _____ work-up.
< 24 months/2 yrs → Greatest risk of unsuspected occult bacteremia w/ E. coli.
What are common SBIs with no clinical sx’s? (3)
Any child < 3 years old who is ill-appearing should have the following tests…(10)
Red Flags - Infants who need to be admitted to the hospital and for serious bacterial infections: (16)
evaluation of fever in young infants 29-60 days (1-2 months)
evaluation of fever in 60-90 day (2-3 month) infant
all infants this age that has fever need urinalysis
all infants < 3 months to rule out UTI
Subjective data - Current medications - all children (2)
Definition: fever of unknown origin
FUO - usually ______, may require _______ consult; ___% self-resolve
Define prolonged fever
single illness in which fever that exceeds that than which is expected for the clinical diagnosis
Sometimes may have prolonged fever that precedes FUO
common causes of FUO in < 6 yrs (6)
common causes FUO in adolescents:
Work-up/labs in FUO (16)
Kawasaki criteria
persistent fever for at least 5 days PLUS > 4 of these:
can also be incomplete who lack classic sx’s = coronary artery abn can confirm dx too
Kawasaki labs if incomplete KD dx
A. fever >= 5 days + 4 of the following:
albumin > 3
urine > 10 WBC
platelet > 450,000 after 7 days of fever
anemia
total WBC > 15,000
elvation of ALT
coronary artery abnormalities (confirms)