Infectious Diseases: Common Outpatient Considerations

The following chapter on outpatient infectious diseases addresses common reasons children visit a pediatrician’s office for a sick visit. The chapter will cover causes of fever such as bacterial and viral infections of the ear, eye, throat, and skin. Some of the data on common bacterial etiologies, choices of antibiotic treatment, and duration of treatment have changed in the last several years; this chapter will give the most updated information to guide you in your outpatient pediatric visits. Frequent and recurrent infections or infections with more unusual bacterial/fungal/viral etiologies may present when a patient has an immunodeficiency. This chapter will familiarize you with the most common types of immunodeficiencies seen in the pediatric population.