Feverish Illness in Children: Assessment and Initial Management in Children Younger Than 5 Years [CG160] was published May 2013 by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
There are three pathways available: Feverish Illness in Children Overview, Symptoms and Signs of Specific Illnesses in Children, and Management of Paediatric Specialists for Children With Feverish Illness.
A summary of this guideline is available at the National Guideline Clearing House site.
[8-26-2014: See also my blog post Causes of Fever In Children by Age from Spotting the Sick Child and from the NICE Guidelines: The Traffic Light System and The Flow Chart for Feverish Illness in Children. April 11, 2014.]
See also NICE article NICE issues updated guidance to help assess children running high temperatures. Key from this article are:
- Assess children with feverish illness for the presence or absence of symptoms and signs that can be used to predict the risk of serious illness using the traffic light system [8-26-2014: See link to my post of April 11, 2014 about the traffic light system.]
- Recognise that children with tachycardia (raised heart rate) are in at least an intermediate-risk group for serious illness. Use the Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) criteriai to define tachycardia.
The Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS)* criteria to define tachycardia:
Age Heart rate (bpm)
<12 months > 160
12-24 months >150
2-5 years >140
*Advanced Paediatric Life Support: The Practical Approach, Fifth Edition, 2012.
