FEVER IN 1ST 8 WEEKS OF LIFE

Abstract

Febrile infants (61) in the 1st 8 wk of life were evaluated for serious, treatable illness. Infants with bacteremia could not be distinguished from non-bacteremic infants by height of fever, white blood cell count, absolute number of juvenile or mature polymorphonuclear leukocytes or the presence of a focus of infection (meningitis excluded). The examiners'' overall assessment (clinical judgement) correctly identified 8 of the 9 infants with bacteremia as not being well; 1 2-wk-old with group B streptococcal bacteremia was missed clinically. This points up the limitation of clinical judgement in assessing febrile infants in the age group studied and supports an aggressive approach in the management of very young febrile infants.