Fever.
OBJECTIVE
A comprehensive review of the current advances in the field of fever in children is presented.


RESULTS
Clinical and diagnostic predictors of serious disease in a child with fever are still being explored for early diagnosis so that therapy could be appropriately targeted. Host susceptibility and immune response are making strides in the understanding of disease pathogenesis and in identifying the causes of fever. Measurement of fever as a screening tool, a review of the efficacy of antipyretics alone or in combination, and finally a global perspective of fever have been discussed through a review of some of the publications in the past 18 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Better markers are required to predict serious bacterial infection in a child with fever. Clinical application of the host immune response in the diagnosis and management of fever is the direction of the future.
Rampersad
Avind
A
Department of Pediatrics, University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo, Ohio 43608, USA.
Mukundan
Deepa
D
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015984:Causality; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D005334:Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008403:Mass Screening; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic