PEDIATRICS
TREATMENT
■ Primary prevention of rheumatic fever: Treat strep pharyngitis with antibi-
otics within 9 days of symptom onset.
■ Secondary treatment once rheumatic fever is diagnosed
■ High-dose aspirin
■ Antibiotics to treat residual strep infection
COMPLICATIONS
■ Damage to heart valves
■ Recurrent episodes of acute rheumatic fever
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Fever in Children <3 Years Old
In general, fever is defined as a rectal temp 38.0°C (100.4°F). Oral and axil-
lary temps are typically 0.6°C (1.0°F) and 1.1°C (2.0°F) lower than rectal
temps, respectively. Serious bacterial infection (SBI) includes bacteremia,
meningitis, urinary tract infection, bacterial pneumonia, or bacterial gastroen-
teritis. In general, the workup for fever is determined by age at presentation in
conjunction with other factors such as underlying medical conditions (eg,
cancer, immunosuppression) and coexisting factors (eg, immunization status).
Low-risk criteria have been proposed for febrile infants <8 weeks (see
Table 5.10).
TABLE 5.10. Rochester Criteria and Philadelphia Protocol Low-Risk Criteria
ROCHESTERCRITERIA PHILADELPHIAPROTOCOL
Infant appears generally well. Infants >28 days old
Infant has been previously well. Infant Observation Score ≤ 10
■Born at term (> 37 wk gestation) No recognizable bacterial
■No antibiotics perinatal infection on exam
■No unexplained Laboratory values:
hyperbilirubinemia ■WBC < 15,000/mm^3
■No previous antimicrobial therapy ■Band-to-neutrophil ratio <0.2
■No previous hospitalization ■WBC≤10/hpf on microscopic
■No chronic or underlying illness exam of spun urine
■Not hospitalized longer than mother ■WBC≤8/hpf and Gram negative
No evidence of skin, soft tissue, stain in a nonbloody CSF specimen
bone, joint, or ear infection No evidence of a discrete
Laboratory values: infiltrate on CXR as determined
■WBC 5000–15,000/mm^3 by an attending physician
■Absolute band count ≤15,000/mm^3 Stool smear negative for blood
■WBC≤ 10/hpf on microscopic exam and few or no WBCs
of spun urine (for infants with diarrhea)
■WBC≤5/hpf on microscopic exam of a
stool smear (for infants with diarrhea)