This editorial discusses the historical evolution of age thresholds used to define 'young febrile infants' at risk for serious bacterial infection, from the neonatal period through the third month of life, in the context of a related meta-analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics.
The editorial traces how concern for sepsis expanded from the first month (Gotoff & Behrman, 1970) to the third month (McCarthy & Dolan, 1976), but notes that evidence-based guidelines generally did not group the third month with the first two months — raising the question of whether that distinction is justified.
Only the abstract/publisher page text is available; the full editorial text and the referenced meta-analysis are behind a paywall, so the complete argument and any specific data cannot be assessed.
Clinicians should be aware that the age cutoffs used in febrile infant guidelines have historical, not purely evidence-based, origins — and an updated meta-analysis may prompt reassessment of how the 2- to 3-month age group is risk-stratified.
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