Fever in a Child Flashcards
What are some signs of measles?
Koplik spot
Rash
Conjunctivitis
How does the rash present with roseola?
Appears when the fever elapses
Which viral infections do you worry about in pregnant women?
Parvo
Rubella
Varicella
What do you do in women with exposure to those viruses?
Check vaccination status
Ultrasound
Followup
What are the management principles with a fever alone?
In of itself it’s not dangerous
Bringing it down won’t prevent febrile convulsions
Treat if symptomatic
When do you worry about a fever?
If it’s been going on for 5 days +
- do an FBE
What constitutes a septic screen?
FBE, CRP, UEC, Film, Cultures
Urine MCS
+/- CSF with MCS
+/- CXR
What are the empirical abx for septicaemia of unknown origin?
Normal CSF - flucloxacillin and Gent
Unknown CSF - Flucloxacillin and 3rd gen cephalosporin (ceftaxime or ceftriaxone)
When does a blood culture come back?
48 hours
How long do you treat
Until results are negative
What do you need to know about if a patient has a convulsion in the context of an illness?
Focal or generalised - what were the eyes during, facial changes, legs and arms
History of febrile convulsions
Development
Family history of seizure/epilepsy
What are the ddx for the causes of febrile convulsion?
Benign
Meningitis, encephalitis
Mass lesion
Bleed
What is a febrile convulsion?
Tonic-clonic seizure in the context of febrile illness
What do you tell parents about febrile convulsions?
Doesn’t increase chance of epilepsy
Controlling the fever doesn’t prevent them
Call the ambulance if longer than 5minutes or child goes blue
What to do when they occur
See your GP after
What are the abx for UTI?
Mild: oral trimethoprim/Bactrim (+/- IM gent)
Severe: IV benpen and gent
