Page Contents
OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to covering the differential diagnosis for pediatric fever. This differential will be organized by diagnostic modality.
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR CATEGORIES OF DIAGNOSTIC MODALITIES THAT ARE USED?
When thinking about the differential for TERM the following diagnostic modalities come to mind:
- History & Physical
- Chest X-Ray
- Urine analysis
- Lumbar puncture
DIAGNOSIS MADE WITH THE HISTORY & PHYSICAL
Some causes of pediatric fever might not really require much a of a clinical workup (and are really more of a “clinical diagnosis” largely made from the history). With this in mind a clinical workup may still inform the diagnosis and can help rule out other causes of the patient’s presentation. Examples of these types of conditions that can cause pediatric fever are listed below.
The following are diagnosis that are made clinically with the history/physical:
- Adverse reactions to vaccines: certain vaccines (like the MMR) can cause a fever in a subset of recipients.
DIAGNOSIS MADE WITH THE CHEST X-RAY
DIAGNOSIS MADE WITH URINE ANALYSIS
DIAGNOSIS MADE WITH THE LUMBAR PUNCTURE
Page Updated: 10.08.2016