Children with recurrent high fever or adenovirus infection are advised by experts not to blindly take antibiotics
2024-06-18
As summer approaches and temperatures rise, many people choose to take their children to places such as swimming pools and water parks to cool down. After returning home, some children experience recurrent high fever and sore throat. Some parents mistakenly believe it is tonsillitis and give their children antipyretics and antibiotics, but the effect is not ideal. Mi Yumei, deputy chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Affiliated Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, said that the repeated high fever is likely to be caused by an acute respiratory infectious disease in children - adenovirus infection. She reminded that viral infection is different from bacterial infection, and antibiotics have no effect on viral infection. Parents should not blindly give antibiotics to their children, and should always pay attention to changes in the condition. If the fever does not subside after 3 days, they should seek medical attention in a timely manner. Not long ago, Ms. Li (pseudonym) and her family were exhausted by her 7-year-old son's repeated high fever. "When it burns, it starts at 39 ℃ and 40 ℃, and I even say I have a sore throat. I used to have a fever and pus in my tonsils, so taking some fever reducing drugs and antibiotics was enough, but this time it's a bit abnormal. Taking both types of drugs is still not good," Ms. Li said. In order to understand the cause of her child's repeated high fever, Ms. Li took her child to the National Clinical Medical Research Center for Children's Health and Diseases and the National Children's Regional Medical Center - Zhejiang University School of Medicine Affiliated Children's Hospital. During the diagnosis, Mi Yumei found that the patient's throat was red and swollen, with bilateral tonsils swollen and a small amount of white discharge on top. Blood tests indicate high levels of white blood cells, C-reactive protein, and inflammatory markers. Is it really purulent tonsillitis? Based on rich clinical experience, Mi Yumei's judgment of the patient's condition is not as follows: adenovirus induced pharyngitis, the white exudate on the tonsils is relatively thin and not purulent; And purulent tonsillitis, with thick secretions, specifically refers to bacterial infections. Because there is only a small amount of white secretion on the tonsils of the affected child, the likelihood of viral infection is higher. Considering that it is difficult to distinguish between the two situations in the early stage, it is necessary to conduct relevant pathogenic tests in a timely manner in order to distinguish them. Therefore, rice and taro chips are used to provide a prescription for the child to further improve the examination. After pathogen examination, the child was diagnosed with adenovirus infection and caused pharyngitis, leading to symptoms of recurrent high fever and enlarged tonsils. After identifying the pathogen, the patient received symptomatic treatment for 3 days at the hospital outpatient department, and their symptoms improved. "Adenovirus infection is different from bacterial infection, which is also the reason why children still have no significant effect after taking antibiotics." Mi Yumei stated that adenovirus is an envelope free double stranded DNA virus and one of the most common culprits of acute respiratory infectious diseases in children, which can occur year-round. Almost every summer, there is a small peak of adenovirus infection, and this year is no exception. In the last day of outpatient visits, we received approximately 10 children with adenovirus infections Mi taro mei said. She mentioned that summer has arrived, and children like to go swimming. Many parents think that their children have contracted adenovirus after swimming, so they think that swimming pools are places with a high incidence of adenovirus. But in fact, apart from swimming pools, any place with dense crowds, enclosed spaces, or collective living can experience adenovirus infection. Experts say that the clinical manifestations of adenovirus infection are sudden onset of fever, mostly recurrent high fever, accompanied by chills, sore throat, mild cough, a small amount of conjunctival congestion, and increased eye secretions. Children infected with adenovirus may experience a sustained high fever for 5 to 7 days. "Severe patients may experience poor mental health, especially during the fever relief period, as well as symptoms such as severe coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, convulsions, graying complexion, frequent vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea." Mi Yumei said that if a child has a short-term fever and is still in good spirits, they can be given appropriate antipyretic medication, drink more water, rest more, take active care, and treat the fever accordingly. If the child has a history of cramps in the past, it is important to take antipyretic medication in a timely manner, and if necessary, take medication to prevent cramps. Experts remind that if high fever persists for several days, further X-ray examinations are needed to prevent the condition from worsening and progressing to pneumonia. For most children with normal immune function, adenovirus infection is self limiting, and mild symptoms can generally self heal. (Lai Xin She)
Edit：Xiong Dafei Responsible editor：Li Xiang
Source：CCTV
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