RT Book, Section
A1 Black, Steven
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 7021832
T1 Chapter 227. Acute Fever Without a Focus
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=7021832
RD 2024/04/19
AB Fever  is  defined  as  a  regulated  rise  in  core  body  temperature.  That  is,  as  distinct  from  hyperthermia,  it  is  a  measured  response  to  internal  regulatory  processes.  Most  clinicians  define  fever  as  a  rectal  temperature  of  38°C  (101.4°F)  or  higher.  Fever  is  the  most  common  cause  for  sick  child  visits  to  the  pediatrician  and  emergency  room.  Fever  is  part  of  the  body’s  response  to  many  adverse  stimuli,  including  inflammation,  infection,  and  malignancy,  among  other  causes.  In  the  pediatric  age  group,  infection  due  to  a  virus  or  bacteria  is  the  most  common  cause  of  fever.  The  tendency  to  seek  medical  attention  for  fever  is  very  much  age  dependent,  with  younger  children  seeking  care  most  often.  Although  part  of  the  tendency  to  seek  medical  attention  for  fever  rests  with  parental  anxiety,  part  rests  appropriately  with  the  increased  risk  of  serious  infection  associated  with  fever  in  the  youngest  children,  neonates,  as  well  as  in  special  risk  groups.