This version was machine-translated from German and has not been medically reviewed. The authoritative version is the German version.

Boston Criteria (historical)

Historical criteria for outpatient treatment of febrile infants aged 28 to 89 days with ceftriaxone (Baskin 1992) – not a reliable exclusion

Child

Age

Highest temperature (rectal) (°C)

Clinic

Does not look ill

No source of fever on examination

Laboratory

Leukocytes in blood (/mm³)

Leukocytes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (/mm³)

Leukocyte esterase detectable in urine

Care

Caregiver reachable by phone

Calculation aid for healthcare professionals: the calculator reproduces what the sources cited assign to the inputs. Clinical assessment and every treatment decision remain with the treating physician. Inputs and results are not stored.

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Sources

Outpatient treatment of febrile infants 28 to 89 days of age with intramuscular administration of ceftriaxone (J Pediatr 120:22–27) Baskin MN, O'Rourke EJ, Fleisher GR, 1992. Original paper (abstract read, PMID 1731019); 503 infants aged 28 to 89 days

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Note

Calculation aid for healthcare professionals. Clinical assessment remains with the treating physician.

Review date of the German original: 2026-11-08 · Methodology

For parents (in German): Fever in children (kinderarzt.net)

Frequently asked questions

Boston Criteria (historical): What does this calculator compute?

Boston criteria (Baskin 1992) for febrile infants aged 28 to 89 days with at least 38.0 °C: not ill-appearing, no fever source, leukocytes below 20 000/mm³, CSF below 10 leukocytes/mm³, urine leukocyte esterase negative, caregiver reachable by telephone. All children received ceftriaxone; 5.4 % nevertheless had a serious bacterial infection. With reservations: historical rule.

Boston Criteria (historical): Which sources is this calculator based on?

Baskin MN, O'Rourke EJ, Fleisher GR: Outpatient treatment of febrile infants 28 to 89 days of age with intramuscular administration of ceftriaxone (J Pediatr 120:22–27) (1992)