The Continuing Saga of the Young Febrile Child

I recently attended the 2010 Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting, and one of the biggest attractions was a symposium on the young febrile child. Four experts (Eugene Shapiro [Yale University], Jerome Klein [Boston University], Carrie Byington [University of Utah], and Ravi Jhaveri [Duke University]) reviewed what we have learned during the past 4 decades about risk for serious bacterial infection (SBI) in young febrile infants and discussed appropriate approaches to management of young febrile infants. Highlights of the symposium include:

• Dr. Shapiro estimated that risk for bacterial meningitis in nontoxic febrile children aged 3 to 36 months has declined from about 7/10,000 to 3/10,000 cases since introduction of the Haemophilus in…