Acute febrile syndromes in children

Infectious pathology in childhood is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Not long ago all over the world (unfortunately, in some places even now) up to 1/4 or more of all born children didn't live till the age of 5 and died because of infections. And the fact that now they have lost their importance – the merit of immunoprophylaxis. Fever is the most common symptom of illness in children and a frequent reason for prescribing medication. Fever during infection is a regulatory process due to cytokines. The temperature level does not always correlate with the severity of the infection. Thus, non-life-threatening respiratory viral infections often occur at a higher temperature, at least initial than life-threatening pneumonia. For most patients, fever is not dangerous. The article highlights the current knowledge about the nature of high fever – above 38ºC – in children, and considers rational ways of diagnosing and treating diseases in which fever is the only symptom, at least at the beginning of the disease. The main questions of the necessity of prescribing antipyretic drugs are covered. To this end, the literature data obtained by the methods of evidentiary medicine and reflected in the agreed recommendations of authoritative professional societies are used.