BMJ  2007;335:527 (15 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.39332.441204.3A

Letters

Spotting the sick child

Video clip is worth 1000 words

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Identifying a seriously ill feverish child, as opposed to one who is miserable and irritable because he or she is uncomfortable with a simple condition, requires care and experience. Harnden reminds us that there is no simplistic formula; a full assessment is needed in which a careful examination is more important than the history, which is why "telephone triage" can be dangerous. A further review is important as the condition of children evolve and change rapidly.¹ He also points out that the guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for children with fever and its traffic light system is of limited value.² These matters are of importance because fewer general practitioners see patients "out of hours," so increasing numbers of first consultations in the United Kingdom are now delegated to telephone screening and staff in walk-in centres with limited experience. Also it is difficult for staff . . . [Full text of this article]

University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 1UW

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This article has been cited by other articles:

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