1 Department of Family Medicine, JD-13, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195
To the Editor.
The attempts of McCarthy et al to understand quantitatively the clinical assessment of degree of illness in febrile children are fascinating, and their most recent publication in this area1 is a significant breakthrough. The task of understanding and characterizing clinical judgment to the point of testing its sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value is an enormous one, but the ramifications of decreased need for laboratory evaluation are great in terms of economics and emotional well-being (physician, patient, and parents).