A fresh study found that experienc...

A fresh study found that experienced pediatricians who relied forward their clinical judgment more than existing clinical guidelines were able to minimize hospitalizations and avoid unnecessary laboratory testing for infants with febrile affections without negatively affecting outcomes of care, according to a March 9 2004 recently made knowns release from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The researchers worked with more than 573 clinicians' offices in 44 states. Included in the consideration were more than 3,000 infants three month not new or younger who had no health question s other than a fever of at least 1004[degrees] F (38[degrees] C)

Traditional clinical practice guidelines for treating infants with febrile affections recommend hospitalization and antibiotic treatment for all infants younger than the same month of age and laboratory trials for all infants younger than three month of age. These expensive strategies are used to diagnose and treat infants with flush to protect them against bacterial meningitis and bacterial vital current infections, which are illnesses that affect approximately 2% to 3% of infants with fevers

Researchers build that clinicians treating infants with fevers

* followed clinical practice guidelines 42% of the time,

* performed laboratory examples on 75% of the infants, and

* treated 57% of the infants with antibiotics.

In the first month of life, 40% fewer infants were hospitalized when clinicians did not pursue clinical practice guidelines but instead saw many infants in repeated office visits and performed visit often telephone follow-ups. Infants treated in the office and with follow-up visits experienced similar originates to those treated following the guidelines.

recent Study Suggests that Clinical Guidelines Used to Treat Infants With heats May Not Improve Outcomes (new release, Rockville, Md: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, March 9 2004) http://www.ahrq .gov.news/press/pr2004/inffevpr.htm (accessed 17 March 2004)

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