Research finds new method to reduce infant spinal taps

A simple combination of blood and urine tests may allow many infants with fevers (febrile) to safely avoid lumbar punctures (spinal taps), according to new findings from a major international study published in JAMA. The results show that these noninvasive tests can reliably identify infants with fevers 28 days and younger who are at very low risk for invasive bacterial infections.