Fever and Febrile Convulsions course for GPs

This session explains how to assess a child with fever using the ‘traffic light’ system. It discusses febrile seizures, their features and management, advice to parents and indications for hospital referral.

This session was reviewed by Khyati Bakhai and last updated in June 2021.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• systematically look for life threatening features in a child with fever
• apply the ‘traffic light’ system to predict the risk of serious illness
• describe febrile seizure and its characteristics and identify the risk factors for recurrence
• recognise alert signs for hospital referral of children with febrile seizure
• provide advice for parents and clarify their concerns

Fever is probably the commonest reason for a child to be taken to the doctor. Feverish illness is also the second most common reason for a child being admitted to hospital. In the UK, infections remain the leading cause of death in children under the age of 5 years.