RT Book, Section
A1 Baker, Douglas
A1 Avner, Jeffrey R.
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 6720530
T1 Chapter 105. The Febrile Child
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6720530
RD 2024/04/19
AB Although  fever  is  almost  always  a  sign  of  an  underlying  illness,  many  parents  and  patients  consider  it  to  be  a  serious  disorder  that  requires  immediate  relief.  Accordingly,  fever  is  often  a  cause  of  great  consternation  for  parents  and  is  one  of  the  most  common  reasons  for  children  to  visit  a  physician.  Fever  is  a  primitive,  almost  universal  component  of  the  acute  phase  response  to  illness.  As  such,  it  may  result  from  virtually  any  process  associated  with  inflammation  or,  more  specifically,  with  cytokine  release,  including  malignancies,  immunologic  reactions,  and  trauma  (see  Chapters  121  and  227  for  a  detailed  discussion  on  thermoregulation  and  the  genesis  of  the  febrile  response).  In  children,  fever  is  most  frequently  a  manifestation  of  an  infectious  illness  (see  Chapter  227),  usually  of  benign  prognosis,  such  as  a  limited  viral  illness  or  a  localized  bacterial  infection.  On  occasion,  however,  fever  may  be  the  only  clinically  detectable  sign  of  serious  infection,  a  concern  that  is  particularly  relevant  in  patients  whose  immunologic  defenses  are  reduced.  Therefore,  the  appearance  of  fever  as  a  lone  manifestation  of  illness  always  demands  a  logical  and  careful  approach  to  evaluating  the  underlying  cause.