Fever in under 5s: assessment and initial management

Fever in under 5s: assessment and initial management - National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)

This guideline covers the assessment and early management of fever with no obvious cause in children aged under 5. It aims to improve clinical assessment and help healthcare professionals diagnose serious illness among young children who present with fever in primary and secondary care.

November 2021: We added a definition of sepsis to recommendation 1.2.2. We also added a cross reference to table 2 to guide users to the risk stratification tool for children aged under 5 years with suspected sepsis (table 3 in the NICE guideline on sepsis).

This guideline should be read in conjunction with the NICE guidelines on sepsis, neonatal infection, meningitis (bacterial) and meningococcal septicaemia in under 16s, urinary tract infection in under 16s, diarrhoea and vomiting caused by gastroenteritis in under 5s and antimicrobial prescribing for common infections.


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