A5V4d

Feverish illness in children
Ill appearance An ill-looking child is an overall impression the assessing healthcare
professional can make when presented with a child. This impression is formed
not only from objective measurements but also from subjective feelings about
how the child looks/reacts. If a healthcare professional’s subjective instinct is to
describe the child as ill looking then the child is most likely at high risk of
serious illness. Healthcare professionals should be confident to follow their
impressions of a child’s wellbeing.
Inclusion criteria See selection criteria.
In-depth interview A qualitative research technique. It is a face-to-face conversation between a
researcher and a respondent with the purpose of exploring issues or topics in
detail. It does not use pre-set questions, but is shaped by a defined set of
topics or issues.
Infant A child that is under the age of 12 months.
Information bias Pertinent to all types of study and can be caused by inadequate questionnaires
(e.g. difficult or biased questions), observer or interviewer errors (e.g. lack of
blinding), response errors (e.g. lack of blinding if patients are aware of the
treatment they receive) and measurement errors (e.g. a faulty machine).
Intention-to-treat (ITT)
analysis
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An analysis of a clinical trial where patients are analysed according to the
group to which they were initially randomly allocated, regardless of whether or
not they had dropped out, fully complied with the treatment, or crossed over
and received the alternative treatment. Intention-to-treat analyses are favoured
in assessments of clinical effectiveness as they mirror the non-compliance and
treatment changes that are likely to occur when the treatment is used in
practice.
Internal validity Refers to the integrity of the study design.
Intervention Healthcare action intended to benefit the patient, for example drug treatment,
surgical procedure, psychological therapy, etc.
Interventional procedure A procedure used for diagnosis or treatment that involves making a cut or hole
in the patient’s body, entry into a body cavity or using electromagnetic radiation
(including X-rays or lasers). The National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE) has the task of producing guidance about whether specific
interventional procedures are safe enough and work well enough for routine
use.
Kawasaki disease A condition consisting of prolonged fever, a rash, changes to the extremities
and mucous membranes, and enlargement of lymph glands in the neck. The
exact cause is unknown but the condition is thought to be caused by a
microbiological toxin. Kawasaki disease can cause aneurysms in the coronary
arteries unless it is treated promptly.
Level of evidence See evidence level.
Literature review A process of collecting, reading and assessing the quality of published (and
unpublished) articles on a given topic.
Longitudinal study A study of the same group of people at more than one point in time. (This type
of study contrasts with a cross-sectional study which observes a defined set of
people at a single point in time.)
Lumbar puncture A procedure in which cerebrospinal fluid is obtained by inserting a hollow
needle into the space between vertebrae in the lumbar region of the spine. The
procedure is used to diagnose bacterial meningitis and encephalitis.
Masking See blinding.
Meningitis Inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that lie between the surface of
the brain and the inside of the skull. Meningitis is usually caused by infection