Fever without focus — traffic lights and occult SBI

Start with appearance, work of breathing, and circulation, then apply NICE NG143 traffic lights. Younger than 3 months with 38 C or higher is high-risk. Non-blanching rash: consider meningococcal disease; give parenteral antibiotics at the earliest opportunity (benzylpenicillin or a third-generation cephalosporin). Tachycardia is at least intermediate (APLS table), not automatically red.^[10]

Must-not-miss: UTI (test urine), pneumonia, meningitis, bone/joint (fever plus not using a limb / non-weight bearing), Kawasaki if fever 5 days or longer. PECARN/Step-by-Step refine selected young infants but do not override NG143 under-3-months high-risk assignment. Safety-net if discharging.^[10]