SUMMARYFever is extremely common in childhood. Parents have been shown to have unrealistic fears, resulting in inappropriate management of fever in their children. This study was conducted to survey parents about their knowledge concerning home management of fever in children in their care. Parents of 560 febrile children were randomly recruited and interviewed in the waiting areas of the outpatient clinics or emergency room in four hospitals in Riyadh city using a standard questionnaire. Most of the interviewees were mothers, aged within 20‐39 years. Although more than one‐half of fathers and one‐third of mothers in the study were well educated, most were misinformed about recognition and definition of fever. Most parents had poor knowledge regarding minimum temperatures for administering correct doses of antipyretic drugs or for sponging/bathing with water of the correct temperature. Most parents demonstrated a poor understanding of the appropriate frequency for checking the child's temperature and administering antipyretics. Only one‐third of parents indicated a reasonable educational imprint by health‐care providers. Considerable efforts will be required to educate parents about fever and its management. (Int J Clin Pract 2000; 54(3): 138‐142)
SUMMARYManagement of undifferentiated febrile illness in young children continues to be a controversial issue among primary‐care physicians. A self‐administered questionnaire was mailed to 600 randomly selected physicians regarding their management of children with high fever and no focus of infection at various ages: 3 weeks, 7 weeks, 4 months and 20 months. Completed questionnaires were returned by 419 (70%) physicians. Nearly 77% of physicians would hospitalise a 3‐week old infant with fever and 70% would treat these infants empirically with antibiotics. Sixty‐one per cent of physicians would hospitalise a 7‐week‐old infant with fever and 46% would treat empirically with antibiotics. Approximately 80% and 93% of physicians, respectively, would not hospitalise 4‐ and 20‐month‐old infants with high fever and no focus of infection, but 72% and 59%, respectively, would treat such infants with antibiotics. There was considerable variation in the way physicians managed young febrile children with no focus of infection and the clinical approach of some physicians was remarkably different from current knowledge and recommendations.
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