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Published on: July 12, 2021
Fever
Avind Rampersad1, Deepa Mukundan
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo, Ohio 43608, USA.
Insights
Accurate prediction of serious illness in febrile children requires better diagnostic markers. Future research will focus on applying host immune response understanding to fever diagnosis and management.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
Background:
- Fever is a common symptom in children, necessitating accurate diagnosis and management.
- Understanding the host's immune response is crucial for identifying the causes of fever.
- Current diagnostic predictors for serious illness in febrile children are still under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current advances in the field of fever in children.
- To explore clinical and diagnostic predictors for early diagnosis of serious disease.
- To discuss the role of host susceptibility and immune response in fever pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of publications from the past 18 months.
- Analysis of clinical and diagnostic predictors for serious disease in children with fever.
- Review of host susceptibility and immune response in understanding fever pathogenesis.
Main Results:
- Predictors for serious disease in febrile children are still being explored for targeted therapy.
- Significant strides are being made in understanding host susceptibility and immune response in fever.
- Efficacy of antipyretics and fever as a screening tool were also discussed.
Conclusions:
- Improved markers are needed to predict serious bacterial infections in febrile children.
- Clinical application of host immune response is the future direction for fever diagnosis and management.
Purpose Of Review:
A comprehensive review of the current advances in the field of fever in children is presented.
Recent Findings:
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.
Summary:
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.
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Increased Body Temperature
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Here are the different types of fever:
Patterns of Fever
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Pharmacological Methods of Reducing Fever:
Homeostatic Imbalances in Body Temperature
Decreased Body Temperature

