WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Fever phobia is a ubiquitous problem throughout the world. As a result, fever is pharmacologically overtreated, and medical attention is frequently sought by worried parents. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Most Canadian parents fear their child' s fever, resulting in aggressive surveillance and treatment. Parents expect information about fever etiology and how to care for their ill child. Few parents expect antibiotics and satisfaction with care is high. abstract OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this survey was to study the beliefs, expectations, and satisfaction of Canadian parents regarding fever and the treatment of their febrile children. METHODS:A survey was developed exploring caregiver beliefs and treatment strategies, as well as expectations and satisfaction with medical care. Some items were modeled after previous studies to allow comparison. Caregivers with febrile children were recruited from 2005 to 2007 at 3 urgent care centers and emergency departments in Edmonton, Canada: a pediatric emergency department (n = 376), an urban urgent care center (n = 227), and a suburban urgent care clinic (n = 173). RESULTS:High and rapidly rising temperature, as well as physical symptoms associated with fever, caused concern in most parents surveyed. Seventy-four percent of parents felt that the elevated temperature from fever was dangerous and 90.3% always try to treat it. Forty degrees Celsius was the most commonly sited threshold for danger. Identifying the cause (80.6%) and seriousness (87.4%) of fever were the most common stressors identified. Caregivers expected to receive information about the child' s illness and appropriate treatment. The parents most often wanted information about febrile seizures and the potential dangers of febrile illness. Only 16.7% of caregivers expected antibiotics. Nearly 92% of subjects were usually satisfied with medical care.CONCLUSIONS: Fever phobia continues to be a significant issue for Canadian parents. As a result, they treat fever aggressively and often seek medical attention. Good communication is important for medical staff caring for febrile children and typically leads to satisfied parents.

Ketamine is a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist used recently for analgesia in patients with chronic pain. Twenty one patients with chronic neuropathic pain were treated with oral ketamine starting at a divided dose of 100 mg/day and titrating upwards by 40 mg/day until efficacy was reached, or until side effects became limiting. A retrospective chart review was conducted to evaluate the analgesic efficacy and side effects of the treatment. Nine patients discontinued ketamine because of intolerable side effects, four patients experienced few or no side effects but had no discernible benefit, four others had equivocal responses. Four patients have continued oral ketamine for long periods. One patient has had no significant benefit or side effects but continues to use ketamine 500 mg/day and three people have used doses ranging from 100-240 mg day for over 1 year duration and have reported improvements in pain and decreased use of analgesics. The analgesic benefits of ketamine appeared to be most pronounced in, but not limited to, patients with pain histories of less than 5 years.