OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to covering how one should best go about conducting the medical interview (i.e. collect the medical history) for a patient who has a suspected case of pediatric fever. Often times the process of “working up” a patient begins with talking with the patient/patient’s collateral directly!
While there is no universal blueprint for taking a medical history there are some fundamental topic areas that arguably should never be neglected when working up a pediatric patient with a fever. Other elements of the history (not included below) may also be relevant, however the sections below are the MOST universal when it comes to this topic:
- Nature of the fever
- What are
THE HISTORY
While there is no universal blueprint for taking a medical history there are some fundamental topic areas that arguably should never be neglected when working up a pediatric patient with a fever. Other elements of the history (not included below) may also be relevant, however the sections below are the MOST universal when it comes to this topic:
Is the patient actually having a fever? It is always good to take a moment and ask what exactly the patient’s temperature was when they were thought to have a fever.
How long has the patient been experiencing the fever? The time frame of the fever is important for a number of reasons. It directly is related to the specific terminology we utilize clinically (such as FWS and FUO), and it gives us a sense of severity, and the longer a fever persists without a clear cause, the more aggressive we become with our clinical investigation.
Is the fever being managed with medication? If yes, how much is being used and how often? This is a very vital part of the history, as it begins to put many things into perspective. Whats more, mistakes in dosing pediatric patients are very common (given how quickly children can change weights/require new dosing volumes).
When was the last time the patient received medication for their fever? This will help to contextualize the patient’s vital sign measurements that have been collected during the visit.