Assessing fever in children

Content developed by MIMS Learning http://www.mimslearning.co.uk/

INTRODUCTION

Feverish illness is among the most common reasons for a child to be taken to the surgery, and is the second most common reason for a child being admitted to hospital.

This resource discusses the assessment and management of fever in children, including the traffic light system for assessing the child’s symptoms. Key learning points for healthcare professionals include The Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) criteria to define tachycardia, and signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this activity, you should be better able to:

Assess a child with a fever
List the information that must be clearly recorded at the time of assessment
Understand when antibiotics may be appropriate
Use the traffic light system to help stratify the risk of serious illness

AUTHOR

Dr Louise Newson

GP, West Midlands

This resource is provided at an intermediate level by MIMS Learning. Read the article and reflect on what you have learned, then answer the test questions at the end.

Complete the resource to obtain a certificate of completion to include in your revalidation portfolio. You should record the time spent on this resource in your CPD log.

PRACTICE NURSE FEATURED ARTICLE

The child with a temperature Dr Mary Lowth

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