and Periodic Fever Syndromes: Approach of a Pediatric Infectious Diseases Subspecialist

history. Diagnoses are considered and supported or excluded. Review of systems is used to understand the totality of the condition and to seek certain occurrences Box 1. Figs. 1 and 2 are algorithms to help the pediatrician manage confidently Pediatr Clin N Am 52 (2005) 811–835specific to diagnoses considered. A careful and complete physical examination is systems based, beginning with growth and ending with a thorough neurologic examination. Laboratory tests rarely establish an unexpected diagnosis. They are used to support or confirm a diagnosis, or to establish ‘‘wellness’ ’ of major organ systems as predicted by history and physical examination. This article discusses three objectives for the clinician: (1) to categorize patterns of fever illnesses and prioritize differential diagnoses; (2) to diagnose and manage the most frequently encountered prolonged fever syndrome, deconditioning; and (3) to expand knowl-edge and approach to diagnosing periodic fever syndromes. The approach de-scribed in this article represents the honed, 30-year experience of a pediatric infectious diseases subspecialist. Definitions of fever syndromes are shown inDistinguishing Among Prolonged, Recurrent