Is it time to incorporate viral testing results within clinical practice guidelines for febrile infants?

The prevalence of bacteraemia and bacterial meningitis (commonly referred to as invasive bacterial infections or IBIs) among febrile infants informs ED clinician management decisions about the need for testing, treatment or hospitalisation. Using increasingly sophisticated risk stratification technologies, the management of these infants has evolved over time. Concurrently, the prevalence of IBI has decreased, largely due to vaccination and maternal antibiotic prophylaxis. The role of viral testing in medical decision-making for febrile infants is not clearly established. Prior work has suggested that febrile infants with viral infections may be at a lower risk of IBI; however, these studies are from a time when respiratory viral testing was inconsistently performed.1 The American Academy of Pediatrics’ clinical practice guideline does not state an explicit role for viral testing, leaving this an open question in need of further research.1 As the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increases in...
Source: Emergency Medicine Journal - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research