Q: My 4-month-old has daily fevers and a high CRP, but our doctor says not to worry. Should I push for more answers?

This post is a dramatization of a question and answer session experienced by our actual medical reviewers.

Q: Hoping to get some advice or see if anyone has been through this. My 4-month-old baby boy has me so worried.

For about two months now, he's been getting these strange fevers every day. They usually go up to about 101.4°F, sometimes hitting 102°F, and then disappear after just a few hours.

He has a complicated history: he was born a few weeks early and was hospitalized at one month old with parechovirus, meningitis, and encephalitis. We also know he has a moderate-sized atrial septal defect in his heart and is in therapy for some developmental delays.

We saw our pediatrician yesterday, who ran some labs. The results came back with a few red flags:

• Low white blood cell count: 7.23 (normal 7.70-13.70)

• Low mean cell volume: 75.2 (normal 82.0-87.0)

• Low RDW: 12.7 (normal 13.0-15.5%)

• Very high C-reactive protein: 32 mg/L

• Sed rate was on the high side of normal.

When we spoke to the pediatrician about these results, she seemed to think it wasn't a big deal and told me I shouldn't be worried since his levels had lowered. I'm so confused because it's been three months since he was in the hospital—shouldn't things be back to normal by now? A CRP that high feels serious. It just doesn't feel right to me.

Has anyone else dealt with something like this? I feel like I should be pushing for something more, but I'm not sure what. Any guidance would be so helpful.

A: It’s completely understandable that you’re feeling concerned, especially with the elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) level, which indicates inflammation. If the CRP has come down compared to previous results, that’s a positive sign. However, if it’s staying the same or has increased, and with the intermittent fevers, it might be worth considering an infection.

Since there are no other major symptoms and your child seems to be doing well otherwise, you could continue to monitor and follow up with your pediatrician. Keeping track of the fever pattern—when it occurs, the temperature, how long it lasts, and how your child seems to be feeling—can be very helpful for future check-ups.

You're doing a great job keeping an eye on all these details. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your healthcare provider if anything changes or if you have any new concerns. We’re here to support you through this!

For extra peace of mind and clear guidance when tracking your child's symptoms and what you here from a doctor, the FeverCoach app is always there to help.

iOS - AppStore, Android - Google Play

https://fevercoach.us