The febrile child

Abstract

Fever in children is one of the most common presentations to primary care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) predicts that 20–40% of parents report a febrile illness in younger children each year. Whilst the majority of these children have self-limiting illnesses that require symptomatic management only, we need to identify the small minority that will go on to have a serious infection and ensure that these children are referred immediately to secondary care. The aims of this article are to explore what fever is, how to assess children presenting with fever, how to identify those at greater risk of serious pathology and what constitutes conservative management, including appropriate safety netting.