Workload and management of childhood fever at general practice out-of-hours care: an observational cohort study

Objective: Even though childhood fever is mostly self-limiting, children with fever constitute a considerable workload in primary care. Little is known about the number of contacts and management during general practitioners' (GPs) out-of-hours care. We investigated all fever related telephone contacts, consultations, antibiotic prescriptions and paediatric referrals of children during GP out-of-hours care within 1 year. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting and patients: We performed an observational cohort study at a large Dutch GP out-of-hours service. Children