pediatrics
Fever in Infants and Children
Key Points
Most acute fever is caused by viral infections. Causes and evaluation of acute fever differ depending on the age of the child; in young infants, fever may indicate a serious, life-threatening disease and requires careful evaluation. A small but real number of children<36 months of age with fever without localizing signs (primarily those who are incompletely immunized) can have pathogenic bacteria in their bloodstream (occult bacteremia) and be early in the course of a potentially life-threatening infection. Teething does not cause significant fever. Antipyretics do not alter the outcome but may make children feel better. 