Early diagnosis of febrile illness: The need of the hour

• DOI: 10.1007/s13312-011-0134-6
• Publication Date: 2011-11-22T15:37:36Z
• Authors: Bhavna Dhingra; Devendra Mishra
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Fever; Point-of-Care Systems; Pediatrics; Malaria; 3. Good health; Dengue; 03 medical and health sciences; Humans; Typhoid Fever; Child; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures

n clinical practice, children presenting withhigh grade fever of few days duration is acommon scenario. The clinician is frequentlyfaced with a situation where, clinical clues aresubtle or minimal and a plethora of diagnosticmodalities are available, and choosing the bestoption is a challenge. Herein, we briefly discuss thevarious rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) or point ofcare tests (POC), available in the Indian scenario,that help elucidate the etiology of short durationfever in children.The significance of a detailedclinical history and physical examination cannot beoveremphasized, and forms the basis for selectingfrom the battery of tests available.