AN APPROACH TO A CHILD (1 WEEK TO 36 MONTHS) WITH FEVER

Nearly seventy percent of all children between the ages of one week and two-years-ofage are brought to Kanti Children’s Hospital for some type of febrile episode. And 50% of these visits are for temperatures greater than or equal to 39 degrees celsius. These children may have significant bacterial infection. In 35% of these children there’s no definable source for the fever on clinical examination. So the child that don’t have identifiable sources could be either bacteremic, meningitis or could have a bone or joint infection in evolution. Simple clinical observation to differentiate a well looking infant from a toxic infant helps to differentiate children who needs admisson or out patient follow-up. Key Words: Fever, young infant, antibiotics, management