Concern Over Recognizing Serious Illness In Feverish Children

A British physician believes the medical system in Britain should be offering less telephone advice and more opportunities for prompt assessment by an experienced clinician when a child has a fever. He says that the most solid evidence of recognizing clinical severity in febrile children in primary care is a full assessment by an experienced clinician. This involves eliciting a clear history and careful observation of signs, including alertness, activity, color, and respiratory effort. He comments that a system that relies heavily on vital signs and may result in the inappropriate referral of large numbers of children, while children who develop a serious illness are sent away.