Fever Among Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Fever is a common childhood problem facedby health care personnel including doctors,nurses and others in both hospital andcommunity settings. However, the nursing management of fever in children is often not based on research and remains inconsistent in practice(1,2). Several methods have been recommended to reduce fever in children, which include tepid sponging, fanning, alcohol sponging and antipyretics. However, controversy surrounds the use of tepid sponge for reduction of fever. The effectiveness of tepid sponging as a treatment alongside antipyretic varies between studies, with some finding that it is of no benefit(3) and others suggesting that it is helpful(4). There is dearth of related studies in India. Therefore, we conducted a study to compare the effectiveness of tepid sponging and antipyretic drug versus only antipyretic drug in the management of fever among children