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. 2022 Oct 15;182(2):543–554. doi: 10.1007/s00431-022-04642-1

What is Known:

• Immunosuppressed children are at high risk for morbidity and mortality of serious bacterial and viral infection, but often present with fever as only clinical symptom.

• Current diagnostic measures in this group are not specific to rule out bacterial infection, and positivity rates of microbiological cultures are low.

What is New:

• Febrile illness and infectious complications remain a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in HR children, yet management is effective.

• The aetiology of febrile illness in immunocompromised children is diverse, and development of pathways for early discharge or cessation of intravenous antibiotics is debatable, and requires better clinical decision-making tools and biomarkers.