Fever without a source in children: international comparison of guidelines

BACKGROUND: Fever without a source (FWS) in children poses a diagnostic challenge. To distinguish a self-limiting infection from a serious infection, multiple guidelines have been developed to aid physicians in the management of FWS. Currently, there is no comparison of existing FWS guidelines. METHODS: This comparative review describes consistencies and differences in guideline definitions and diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations. A literature search was performed to include secondary care FWS guidelines of high-income countries, composed by national or regional pediatric or emergency care associations, available in English or Dutch. RESULTS: Ten guidelines of five high-income countries were included, with varying age ranges of children with FWS. In children younger than one month with FWS, the majority of the guidelines recommended laboratory testing, blood and urine culturing and antibiotic treatment irrespective of the clinical condition of the patient. Recommendations for blood culture and antibiotic treatment varied for children aged 1–3 months. In children aged above three months, urine culture recommendations were inconsistent, while all guidelines consistently recommended cerebral spinal fluid testing and antibiotic treatment exclusively for children with a high risk of serious infection. CONCLUSIONS: We found these guidelines broadly consistent, especially for children with FWS younger than one month. Guideline variation was seen most in the targeted age ranges and in recommendations for children aged 1–3 months and above three months of age. The findings of the current study can assist in harmonizing guideline development and future research for the management of children with FWS. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12519-022-00611-8.