Prevalence and some clinical predictions of occult bacteremia in febrile children below 5 years of age

225 febrile children between 3 months to 5 years, with rectal temperature above 39C and with no focus of infection, comprised the study sample. Clinical scoring for toxicity was done in all cases and blood culture was sent in each child. Bacteremia was detected in 15%. of cases, which was significantly higher in children between 3-12 months of age Culture positivity increased with increasing temperature. Temperature cut off values at 39.5% provided a desired combination of good sensitivity [68%] and specificity [92%]. Acute illness observation score of >10 was associated with significantly high percentage of bacteremia and high sensitivity [97%] and specificity [89%]