{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T20:15:07Z","timestamp":1789071307928,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,16]],"date-time":"2024-01-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1705363200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Febrile infants under three months of age pose a diagnostic challenge to clinicians. Unlike in older children, the rates of invasive bacterial infections (IBIs), such as bacteraemia or meningitis, are high. This greater risk of IBI combined with the practical challenges of assessing young infants results in a cautious approach with many febrile infants receiving parenteral antibiotics \u201cjust in case\u201d. However, there is a range of validated tailored care guidelines that support targeted investigation and management of febrile infants, with a cohort identified as lower risk suitable for fewer invasive procedures and observation without parenteral antibiotics. This manuscript outlines five common conundrums related to the safe application of tailored-care guidelines for the assessment and management of febrile infants under three months of age. It also explores future research which aims to further refine the management of febrile infants.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics13010088","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,16]],"date-time":"2024-01-16T11:37:18Z","timestamp":1705405038000},"page":"88","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Conundrums in the Management of Febrile Infants under Three Months of Age and Future Research"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Helena","family":"Wilcox","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Georges University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London SW17 0QT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0780-8614","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Etimbuk","family":"Umana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wellcome Wolfson Institute of Experimental Medicine, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emmanuelle","family":"Fauteux-Lamarre","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Emergency Department, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, T12 DC4A Cork, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0073-2650","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Velasco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Emergency Unit, Hospital Universitari Parc Tauli, Institut d\u2019Investigaci\u00f3 i Innovaci\u00f3 I3PT, 08208 Sabadell, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thomas","family":"Waterfield","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wellcome Wolfson Institute of Experimental Medicine, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-3476(88)80312-3","article-title":"Ambulatory care of febrile infants younger than 2 months of age classified as being at low risk for having serious bacterial infections","volume":"112","author":"Dagan","year":"1988","journal-title":"J. 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