Essay Sample on Fever in Children

Introduction

Differential diagnosis is massive. However, it is limited to a particular condition which is predominant. The differential diagnosis of children suffering from fever include:

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UTI, the UTI affects the kidneys, the urethra, ureters or the bladder, these are the organs where urine passes through when it is being removed from the body (Gupta et al., 2015 p.473). UTI in the upper body usually affects the kidneys which may cause fever.

• Diagnostic tests: blood test and urine test.
• Non-pharmacological management: drinking of water.
• Pharmacological management: use of antibiotics.
• Follow-up: check if there is pain on the abdomen.
• Referral: refer the patient to primary care doctor.

Pneumonia: The symptoms of pneumonia include fever, in some cases the fever might be mild or high (Tagarro et al., n.p). Fever is caused by the congestion of mucus in the sinuses of the affected patient.

• Diagnostic tests: chest radiograph, thoracentesis.
• Non-pharmacological management: keeping warm.
• Pharmacological management: fever reducers, pain relievers and antibiotics.
• Follow-up: monitor cough signs and symptoms for 6-12 months.
• Referral: refer the patient to a primary care doctor to conduct tests for pneumonia.

Bacteremia: This is the presence of bacteria in the blood cells, the environment created by blood cells is normally sterile and in case there is a foreign material, there might be fever (Baker, Douglas & Jeffrey, 2016 p. e20162085).

• Diagnostic tests: laboratory blood tests.
• Non-pharmacological management: maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
• Pharmacological management: administration of empirical antibiotics.
• Follow-up: monitor pain for 6-12 months.
• Referral: refer the patient to a specialist for specialized care.

Bronchitis, this is an inflammation of the organs which move air to and from the lungs. In most cases, such inflammations have been found to cause fever in children (Kumar, Sasireka & Kannan, 2018).

• Diagnostic tests: chest x-rays.
• Non-pharmacological management: eliminate pathogens.
• Pharmacological management: administration of antibiotics.
• Follow-up: monitor signs and symptoms for 6-12 months.
• Referral: refer the patient to a specialist for specialized care.

Otitis Media, this is an ear infection where an eardrum is affected, the eardrum becomes inflamed, red or swollen (Di Pierro et al., 2016 p. 4601).

• Diagnostic tests: ear examination through an otoscope.
• Non-pharmacological management: lowering volumes.
• Pharmacological management: administration of antibiotic drugs.
• Follow-up: monitor pain for 6-12 days.
• Referral: refer the patient to a specialist for specialized care.

References

Baker, M. D., & Avner, J. R. (2016). Management of fever in young infants: Evidence versus common practice. Pediatrics, 138(6), e20162085.

Di Pierro, F., Colombo, M., Giuliani, M. G., Danza, M. L., Basile, I., Bollani, T., ... & Rottoli, A. S. (2016). Effect of administration of Streptococcus salivarius K12 on the occurrence of streptococcal pharyngo-tonsillitis, scarlet fever and acute otitis media in 3 years old children. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci, 20(21), 4601-4606.

Gupta, P., Mandal, J., Krishnamurthy, S., Barathi, D., & Pandit, N. (2015). Profile of urinary tract infections in paediatric patients. The Indian journal of medical research, 141(4), 473.

Kumar, K. S., Sasireka, B. I., & Kannan, I. (2018). Prevalence of enteric fever in the patients admitted to paediatric ward in a rural tertiary care teaching hospital: a retrospective study. International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics, 5(4), 1567-1570.

Tagarro, A., Martin, M. D., Del-Amo, N., Sanz-Rosa, D., & Otheo, E. (2018). Hyponatremia in children with pneumonia rarely means SIADH. Paediatrics & Child Health.