Fever in the pediatric patient

Abstract

Fever is the most common reason that children and infants are brought to emergency departments. Emergency physicians face the challenge of quickly distinguishing benign from life-threatening conditions. The management of fever in children is guided by the patient's age, immunization status, and immune status as well as the results of a careful physical examination and appropriate laboratory tests and radiographic views. In this article, the evaluation and treatment of children with fevers of known and unknown origin are described. Causes of common and dangerous conditions that include fever in their manifestation are also discussed.

Keywords: Febrile neutropenia; Febrile seizure; Fever; Fever without source; Meningococcemia; Occult pneumonia; Sickle cell disease; Urinary tract infection.