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The evaluation of a febrile child is an extremely common scenario in most emergency departments. Emergency physicians must decide which children require a work-up, the nature of that work-up, and the need for antibiotics with or without hospitalization. This process often is in the context of evaluating many febrile children, with only subtle clues as to which child truly may be ill. Unfortunately, it is common for inadvertent errors in judgment to end up in the courtroom as a subject of malpractice lawsuits. This month’s issue focuses on some of the risks and controversies in the evaluation of the febrile child.

Pediatric fever: It could be more than a warm forehead