title: Fever management audit: Australian nurses' antipyretic usage.
abstract: Do nurses manage fevers of children hospitalized for a febrile illness ritualistically or rationally? Nurses recorded temperatures more frequently during the first 8 hours in the ward with a mean frequency of 13.36 (SD = 4.76, range 5 to 24) during the first 24 hours following admission. In the majority of cases, there was a strong second hourly pattern of temperature monitoring according to the time of day (e.g., 0600 hr, 0800 hrs, 1000 hr). Seventy-six percent (51) of the children received at least one antipyretic. The mean temperature when antipyretics were administered was 38.34 degrees C (SD = 1.02, range 35.9 degrees C to 40.8 degrees C). The highest antipyretic administration occurred during the daytime, and the highest temperature recording occurred during the nighttime. Antipyretic administration and mean temperatures generally followed a similar pattern, except at 0800 and 1600 hours when antipyretic administration was high and mean temperatures low. This study revealed a need to further investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and decision-making criteria of nurses toward fever management.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. h.edwards@qut.edu.au
authors.forename: Helen E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Mary D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Courtney
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Monaghan
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Walsh
mesh_terms: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001315:Australia; D001831:Body Temperature; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing*; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009731:Nursing Audit; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic