Pyrexia in Egyptian infants and children

ABSTRACT

The aim of this work was to establish most common causes of fever in children. This work included clinical evaluation of one thousand nine hundred and forty infants and children who were admitted with fever [rectal temperature 38°C or above] over 12 months period from April 1982 to March 1983. Analysis oh the results obtained revealed that pyrexia was found in child-aged 6-21 months and few were seen in children more than one year. The major causes of pyrexia in this age group were pneumonia and gastroenteritis. They represented 79.8% of the total admissions, whereas meningoencephalitis represented 4-7%. Other childhood pyrexia were associated with other CNS diseases, rheumatic fever SBE, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, acute glomerulonephritis, urinary tract infection, haemolytic crisis, measles, roseola infantum, infective hepatitis, etc It is apparent from this study that it is unusual for infants less than two weeks of age to present with fever in response to infectious agents. This response can be attributed, in part, to the poor thermoregulatory ability of the neonates. There were 11 cases less than two weeks old, 6 of them diagnosed as having tetanus in this group who merit special consideration by the exanining physician. Febrile convulsions were associated with 32 cases [1.6% of the total admission], 20 cases were having pneumonia and 12 cases gastroenteritis. Vaccination at proper time for infectious diseases, prophylaxis with penicillin for rheumatic fever, intensive health education, and other methods are recommended for preventive aspect of these diseases