Management of fever in children: Summary of the Italian pediatric society guidelines

Clinical Therapeutics

Volumn 31, Issue 8, 2009, Pages 1826-1843

  Chiappini, Elena ^a   Principi, Nicola ^b   Longhi, Riccardo ^c   Tovo, Pier Angelo ^d   Becherucci, Paolo ^e   Bonsignori, Francesca ^a   Esposito, Susanna ^b   Festini, Filippo ^a   Galli, Luisa ^a   Lucchesi, Bice ^f   Mugelli, Alessandro ^a   de Martino, Maurizio ^a   de Maria, Andrea ^g   Faldella, Giacomo ^h   Marseglia, Gian Luigi ⁱ   Minoli, Lorenzo ⁱ   Pecco, Paola ^j   Squaglia, Simona ^k   Tambaro, Paolo ^l   Tulimiero, Pasquale ^l   Zavarise, Giorgio ^m   more..

^a UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE   (Italy)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MILAN   (Italy)

^c SANT ANNA HOSPITAL   (Italy)

^d UNIVERSITY OF TURIN   (Italy)

^e Primary Care Practice   (Italy)

^f Health Authority 1   (Italy)

^g UNIVERSITY OF GENOA   (Italy)

^h UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA   (Italy)

ⁱ FONDAZIONE IRCCS POLICLINICO SAN MATTEO   (Italy)

^j REGINA MARGHERITA CHILDREN S HOSPITAL   (Italy)

^k Department of Allied Health Professions   (Italy)

^l Hospital Sacro Cuore Don Calabria ^*

^m Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital   (Italy)

more..

Author keywords

antipyretics; children; fever; guidelines

Indexed keywords

ACETYLCYSTEINE; ACTIVATED CARBON; DIAZEPAM; DICOUMAROL DERIVATIVE; IBUPROFEN; PARACETAMOL; PLACEBO;

ANTIPYRETIC ACTIVITY; ARTICLE; AXILLA TEMPERATURE; CHILD; CHILD CARE; CHRONIC DISEASE; CLINICAL TRIAL; DOSAGE SCHEDULE COMPARISON; DRUG ABSORPTION; DRUG BLOOD LEVEL; DRUG DOSE COMPARISON; DRUG EFFICACY; DRUG INDICATION; DRUG INTOXICATION; DRUG POTENTIATION; DRUG TOLERABILITY; ELECTRONIC THERMOMETER; EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE; FEBRILE CONVULSION; FEVER; GASTROINTESTINAL HEMORRHAGE; HUMAN; INFRARED THERMOMETER; LIVER TOXICITY; LOADING DRUG DOSE; MEDICAL SOCIETY; PAIN; PRACTICE GUIDELINE; RECOMMENDED DRUG DOSE; RECTUM TEMPERATURE; SINGLE DRUG DOSE; TYMPANIC TEMPERATURE;

ACETAMINOPHEN; AGE FACTORS; ANALGESICS, NON-NARCOTIC; AXILLA; BODY TEMPERATURE; BODY WEIGHT; CHILD; FEVER; HUMANS; IBUPROFEN; INFANT, NEWBORN; ITALY; PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC; SOCIETIES, MEDICAL; THERMOMETERS; TYMPANIC MEMBRANE;

EID: 72449142218     PISSN: 01492918     EISSN: 1879114X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2009.08.006     Document Type: Article

References (108)

1. Walsh A., Edwards H., and Fraser J. Influences on parents' fever management: Beliefs, experiences and information sources. J Clin Nurs. 16 (2007) 2331-2340
2. Betz M.G., and Grunfeld A.F. 'Fever phobia' in the emergency department: A survey of children's caregivers. Eur J Emerg Med. 13 (2006) 129-133
3. Ishimine P. The evolving approach to the young child who has fever and no obvious source. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 25 (2007) 1087-1115
4. Richardson M., and Lakhanpaul M. Feverish illness in children under 5 years. Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed. 93 (2008) 26-29
5. Seow V.K., Lin A.C., Lin I.Y., et al. Comparing different patterns for managing febrile children in the ED between emergency and pediatric physicians: Impact on patient outcome. Am J Emerg Med. 25 (2007) 1004-1008
6. Dlugosz C.K., Chater R.W., and Engle J.P. Appropriate use of nonprescription analgesics in pediatric patients. J Pediatr Health Care. 20 (2006) 316-325
7. Italian Drug Agency. Paracetamol overdose cases-February 16th, 2007. http://www.agenziafarmaco.it/ATTUALITA/section7b1e.html?target=&area_tematica=ATTUALITA%C2%A7ion_code=AIFA_ATTUALITA&entity_id=111.50419 .1171624853975 Accessed July 17, 2009
8. Isaacman D.J., Kaminer K., Veligeti H., et al. Comparative practice patterns of emergency medicine physicians and pediatric emergency medicine physicians managing fever in young children. Pediatrics. 108 (2001) 354-358
9. Baraff L.J. Editorial: Clinical policy for children younger than three years presenting to the emergency department with fever. Ann Emerg Med. 42 (2003) 546-549
10. Rampersad A., and Mukundan D. Fever. Curr Opin Pediatr. 21 (2009) 139-144
11. Smaldone A. Paracetamol plus ibuprofen increased time without fever compared with paracetamol but did not differ from ibuprofen in children. Evid Based Nurs. 12 (2009) 41
12. Gestione del segno/sintomo febbre in pediatria. Linee Guida della Società Italiana di Pediatria. http://www.sip.it/lineeguida/home/IsComitati/1 Accessed June 2, 2009
13. Il Programma nazionale per le linee guida (PNLG). Methodological handbook-how to produce, disseminate and update clinical practice recommendations. http://www.pnlg.it/en_method# Accessed June 2, 2009
14. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). SIGN 50: A guideline developer's handbook. http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/fulltext/50/index.html Accessed July 22, 2009
15. El-Radhi A.S., and Barry W. Thermometry in paediatric practice. Arch Dis Child. 91 (2006) 351-356
16. Martin S.A., and Kline A.M. Can there be a standard for temperature measurement in the pediatric intensive care unit?. AACN Clin Issues. 15 (2004) 254-266
17. Nimah M.M., Bshesh K., Callahan J.D., and Jacobs B.R. Infrared tympanic thermometry in comparison with other temperature measurement techniques in febrile children. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 7 (2006) 48-55
18. Chaturvedi D., Vilhekar K.Y., Chaturvedi P., and Bharamble M.S. Comparison of axillary temperature with rectal or oral temperature and determination of optimum placement time in children. Indian Pediatr. 41 (2004) 600-603
19. Craig J.V., Lancaster G.A., Williamson P.R., and Smyth R.L. Temperature measured at the axilla compared with rectum in children and young people: Systematic review. BMJ. 320 (2000) 1174-1178
20. Falzon A., Grech V., Caruana B., et al. How reliable is axillary temperature measurement?. Acta Pediatr. 92 (2003) 309-313
21. Dew P.L. Is tympanic membrane thermometry the best method for recording temperature in children?. J Child Health Care. 10 (2006) 96-110
22. Ciuraru N.B., Braunstein R., Sulkes A., and Stemmer S.M. The influence of mucositis on oral thermometry: When fever may not reflect infection. Clin Infect Dis. 46 (2008) 1859-1863
23. Morley C.J. Measuring infants' temperature. Midwives Chron. 105 (1992) 26-29
24. Committee on the Environment, and Public Health and Food Safety. Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the banning of exports and the safe storage of metallic mercury (June 11, 2007). http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+ A6-2007-0227+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN Accessed June 2, 2009
25. Dodd S.R., Lancaster G.A., Craig J.V., et al. In a systematic review, infrared ear thermometry for fever diagnosis in children finds poor sensitivity. J Clin Epidemiol. 59 (2006) 354-357
26. Robinson J.L., Seal R.F., Spady D.W., and Joffres M.R. Comparison of esopha-geal, rectal, axillary, bladder, tympanic, and pulmonary artery temperatures in children. J Pediatr. 133 (1998) 553-556
27. Wells N., King J., Hedstrom C., and Youngkins J. Does tympanic temperature measure up?. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 20 (1995) 95-100
28. El-Radhi A.S., and Patel S. An evaluation of tympanic thermometry in a paediatric emergency department. Emerg Med J. 23 (2006) 40-41
29. Devrim I., Kara A., Ceyhan M., et al. Measurement accuracy of fever by tympanic and axillary thermometry. Pediatr Emerg Care. 23 (2007) 16-19
30. Craig J.V., Lancaster G.A., Taylor S., et al. Infrared ear thermometry compared with rectal thermometry in children: A systematic review. Lancet. 360 (2002) 603-609
31. Kenney R.D., Fortenberry J.D., Surrat S.S., et al. Evaluation of an infrared tympanic membrane thermometer in pediatric patients. Pediatrics. 85 (1990) 854-858
32. De Curtis M., Calzolari F., Marciano A., et al. Comparison between rectal and infrared skin temperature in the newborn. Arch Dis Fetal Neonatal Ed. 93 (2008) F55-F57
33. Sermet-Gaudelus I., Chadelat I., and Lenoir G. Body temperature measurement in daily practice [in French]. Arch Pediatr. 12 (2005) 1292-1300
34. Crocetti M., Moghbeli N., and Serwint J. Fever phobia revisited: Have parental misconceptions about fever changed in 20 years?. Pediatrics. 107 (2001) 1241-1246
35. Walsh A., and Edwards H. Management of childhood fever by parents: Literature review. J Adv Nurs. 54 (2006) 217-227
36. Taveras E.M., Durousseau S., and Flores G. Parents' beliefs and practices regarding childhood fever: A study of a multiethnic and socioeconomically diverse sample of parents. Pediatr Emerg Care 20 (2004) 579-587
37. Meremikwu M., and Oyo-Ita A. Physical methods for treating fever in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2 (2003) CD004264
38. Kinmonth A.L., Fulton Y., and Campbell M.J. Management of feverish children at home. BMJ 305 (1992) 1134-1136
39. Mahar A.F., Allen S.J., Milligan P., et al. Tepid sponging to reduce temperature in febrile children in a tropical climate. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 33 (1994) 227-231
40. Sharber J. The efficacy of tepid sponge bathing to reduce fever in young children. Am J Emerg Med. 15 (1997) 188-192
41. Friedman A.D., Barton L.L., and Sponging Study Group. Efficacy of sponging vs acetaminophen for reduction of fever. Pediatr Emerg Care 6 (1990) 6-7
42. Purssell E. Physical treatment of fever. Arch Dis Child 82 (2000) 238-239
43. Alpert G., Hibbert E., and Fleisher G.R. Case-control study of hyperpyrexia in children. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 9 (1990) 161-163
44. Trautner B.W., Caviness A.C., Ger-lacher G.R., et al. Prospective evaluation of the risk of serious bacterial infection in children who present to the emergency department with hyperpyrexia (temperature of 106 degrees F or higher). Pediatrics 118 (2006) 34-40
45. Stanley R., Pagon Z., and Bachur R. Hyperpyrexia among infants younger than 3 months. Pediatr Emerg Care 21 (2005) 291-294
46. Press S. Association of hyperpyrexia with serious disease in children. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 33 (1994) 19-25
47. Bachur R.G., and Harper M.B. Predictive model for serious bacterial infections among infants younger than 3 months of age. Pediatrics 108 (2001) 311-316
48. Baraff L.J. Management of fever without source in infants and children. Ann Emerg Med. 36 (2000) 602-614
49. Mackowiak P.A. Diagnostic implications and clinical consequences of antipyretic therapy. Clin Infect Dis. 31 Suppl 5 (2000) S230-S233
50. Kramer M.S., Naimark L.E., Roberts-Bräuer R., et al. Risks and benefits of paracetamol antipyresis in young children with fever of presumed viral origin. Lancet 337 (1991) 591-594
51. Doran T.F., De Angelis C., Baumgardner R.A., and Melliti E.D. Acetaminophen: More harm than good for chicken-pox?. J Pediatr 114 (1989) 1045-1048
52. El-Radhi A.S. Why is the evidence not affecting the practice of fever management?. Arch Dis Child 93 (2008) 918-920
53. Hall S.M., Plaster P.A., Glasgow J.F., and Hancock P. Preadmission antipyretics in Reye's syndrome. Arch Dis Child 63 (1998) 857-866
54. US Food and Drug Administration. Labeling for oral and rectal over-the-counter drug products containing aspirin and nonaspirin salicylates: Reye's Syndrome warning. Final rule. Fed Regist. 68 (2003) 18861-18869
55. Porter J.D., Robinson P.H., Glasgow J.F., et al. Trends in the incidence of Reye's syndrome and the use of aspirin. Arch Dis Child. 65 (1990) 826-829
56. BNF for children. http://bnfc.org/bnfc/index.htm Accessed June 2, 2009
57. Richardson M., Lakhanpaul M., and Guideline Development Group and the technical team. NICE guidelines: Assessment and initial management of feverish illness in children younger than 5 years: Summary of NICE guidance. BMJ 334 (2007) 1163-1164
58. Aronoff D.M., and Neilson E.G. Antipyretics: Mechanisms of action and clinical use in fever suppression. Am J Med. 111 (2001) 304-315
59. Hay A.D., Costelloe C., Redmond N.M., et al. Paracetamol plus ibuprofen for the treatment of fever in children (PITCH): Randomised controlled trial. BMJ (2008) 337 a1302. doi:10.1136/bmj.a1302
60. World Health Organization. Handbook IMCI: Integrated management of childhood illness. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2000/WHO_FCH_CAH_00.12_pp1-82.pdf Accessed July 22, 2009
61. Russell F.M., Shann F., Curtis N., and Mulholland K. Evidence on the use of paracetamol in febrile children. Bull World Health Organ. 81 (2003) 367-372
62. Purssell E. Treating fever in children: Paracetamol or ibuprofen?. Br J Community Nurs. 7 (2002) 316-320
63. Perrot D.A., Piira T., Goodenough B., and Champion G.D. Efficacy and safety of acetaminophen vs ibuprofen for treating children's pain or fever: A meta-analysis. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 158 (2004) 521-526
64. Goldman R.D., Ko K., Linett L.J., and Scolnik D. Antipyretic efficacy and safety of ibuprofen and acetaminophen in children. Ann Pharmacother. 38 (2004) 146-150
65. Autret-Leca E., Gibb I.A., and Goulder M.A. Ibuprofen versus paracetamol in pediatric fever: Objective and subjective findings from a randomized, blinded study. Curr Med Res Opin. 23 (2007) 2205-2211
66. Erlewyn-Lajeunesse M.D., Coppens K., et al. Randomised controlled trial of combined paracetamol and ibuprofen for fever. Arch Dis Child 91 (2006) 414-416
67. Lal A., Gomber S., and Talukdar B. Antipyretic effects of nimesulide, paracetamol and ibuprofen-paracetamol. Indian J Pediatr 67 (2000) 865-870
68. Nabulsi M.M., Tamim H., Mahfoud Z., et al. Alternating ibuprofen and acetaminophen in the treatment of febrile children: A pilot study [ISRCTN30487061]. BMC Med. 4 (2006) 4
69. Sarrell E.M., Wielunsky E., and Cohen H.A. Antipyretic treatment in young children with fever: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or both alternating in a randomized, double-blind study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 160 (2006) 197-202
70. Tréluyer J.M., Tonnelier S., d'Athis P., et al. Antipyretic efficacy of an initial 30-mg/kg loading dose of acetaminophen versus a 15-mg/kg maintenance dose. Pediatrics 108 (2001) E73
71. Gibb I.A., and Anderson B.J. Paracetamol (acetaminophen) pharmacodynamics: Interpreting the plasma concentration. Arch Dis Child. 93 (2008) 241-247
72. Scolnik D., Kozer E., Jacobson S., et al. Comparison of oral versus normal and high-dose rectal acetaminophen in the treatment of febrile children. Pediatrics. 110 (2002) 553-556
73. Nabulsi M., Tamim H., Sabra R., et al. Equal antipyretic effectiveness of oral and rectal acetaminophen: A randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN11886401]. BMC Pediatr. 5 (2005) 35
74. Bilenko N., Tessler H., Okbe R., et al. Determinants of antipyretic misuse in children up to 5 years of age: A cross-sectional study. Clin Ther. 28 (2006) 783-793
75. Lesko S.M., and Mitchell A.A. The safety of acetaminophen and ibuprofen among children younger than two years old. Pediatrics. 104 (1999) e39
76. Lesko S.M., and Mitchell A.A. An assessment of the safety of pediatric ibuprofen. A practitioner-based randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 273 (1995) 929-933
77. Byington C.L., Spencer L.Y., Johnson T.A., et al. An epidemiological investigation of a sustained high rate of pediatric parapneumonic empyema: Risk factors and microbiological associations. Clin Infect Dis. 34 (2002) 434-440
78. Sohn S., and Kwon K. Accelerated thrombotic occlusion of a medium-sized coronary aneurysm in Kawasaki disease by the inhibitory effect of ibuprofen on aspirin. Pediatr Cardiol. 29 (2008) 153-156
79. American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Drugs. Acetaminophen toxicity in children. Pediatrics. 108 (2001) 1020-1024
80. Li S.F., Lacher B., and Crain E.F. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen dosing by parents. Pediatr Emerg Care. 16 (2000) 394-397
81. Madlon-Kay D.J., and Mosch F.S. Liquid medication dosing errors. J Fam Pract. 49 (2000) 741-744
82. Brok J., Buckley N., and Gluud C. Interventions for paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2 (2006) CD003328
83. Holubek W., Stolbach A., Nurok S., et al. A report of two deaths from massive ibuprofen ingestion. J Med Toxicol. 3 (2007) 52-55
84. Volans G., Monaghan J., and Colbridge M. Ibuprofen overdose. Int J Clin Pract Suppl. 135 (2003) 54-60
85. Easley R.B., and Altemeier III W.A. Central nervous system manifestations of an ibuprofen overdose reversed by naloxone. Pediatr Emerg Care. 16 (2000) 39-41
86. Moghal N.E., Hulton S.A., and Milford D.V. Care in the use of ibuprofen as an antipyretic in children. Clin Nephrol. 49 (1998) 293-295
87. Kurtovic J., and Riordan S.M. Paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity at recommended dosage. J Intern Med. 253 (2003) 240-243
88. Kanabar D., Dale S., and Rawat M. A review of ibuprofen and acetaminophen use in febrile children and the occurrence of asthma-related symptoms. Clin Ther. 29 (2007) 2716-2723
89. McIntyre J., and Hull D. Comparing efficacy and tolerability of ibuprofen and paracetamol in fever. Arch Dis Child. 74 (1996) 164-167
90. Beasley R., Clayton T., Crane J., et al., ISAAC Phase Three Study Group. Association between paracetamol use in infancy and childhood, and risk of asthma, rhinocon-junctivitis, and eczema in children aged 6-7 years: Analysis from Phase Three of the ISAAC programme. Lancet. 372 (2008) 1039-1048
91. Allmers H., Skudlik C., and John S.M. Acetaminophen use: A risk for asthma?. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 9 (2009) 164-167
92. Ponvert C., and Scheinmann P. Allergic and pseudoallergic reactions to analgesics, antipyretics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [in French]. Arch Pediatr. 14 (2007) 507-512
93. al-Obaidy S.S., McKiernan P.J., Li Wan Po A., et al. Metabolism of paracetamol in children with chronic liver disease. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 50 (1996) 69-76
94. Cormack C.R., Sudan S., Addison R., et al. The pharmacokinetics of a single rectal dose of paracetamol (40 mg × kg(-1)) in children with liver disease [published correction appears in Paediatr Anaesth. 2006; 16:708]. Paediatr Anaesth. 16 (2006) 417-423
95. Leroy S., Mosca A., Landre-Peigne C., et al. Ibuprofen in childhood: Evidence-based review of efficacy and safety [in French]. Arch Pediatr. 14 (2007) 477-484
96. Riley III T.R., and Smith J.P. Ibuprofen-induced hepatotoxicity in patients with chronic hepatitis C: A case series. Am J Gastroenterol. 93 (1998) 1563-1565
97. Andrade R.J., Lucena M.I., García-Cortés M., et al. Chronic hepatitis C, ibuprofen, and liver damage. Am J Gastroenterol. 97 (2002) 1854-1855
98. Pavlicevi'c I., Kuzmani'c M., Rumboldt M., and Rumboldt Z. Interaction between antihypertensives and NSAIDs in primary care: A controlled trial. Can J Clin Pharmacol. 15 (2008) e372-e382
99. Baraff L.J. Management of infants and young children with fever without source. Pediatr Ann. 37 (2008) 673-679
100. Anderson B.J., van Lingen R.A., Hansen T.G., et al. Acetaminophen developmental pharmacokinetics in premature neonates and infants: A pooled population analysis. Anesthesiology. 96 (2002) 1336-1345
101. Palmer G.M., Atkins M., Anderson B.J., et al. I.V. acetaminophen pharmacokinetics in neonates after multiple doses. Br J Anaesth. 101 (2008) 523-530
102. Lago P., Ancora G., Bellini C.V., et al., Analgesia and Sedation Study Group, Italian Society of Neonatology. Recommendations for the prevention and the treatment of pain in the newborn. http://www.neonatologia.it/atom/Atom/allegato/102.pdf Accessed June 2, 2009
103. Manley J., and Taddio A. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen for prevention of adverse reactions associated with childhood immunization. Ann Pharmacother. 41 (2007) 1227-1232
104. Jackson L.A., Dunstan M., Starkovich P., et al. Prophylaxis with acetaminophen or ibuprofen for prevention of local reactions to the fifth diphtheriatetanus toxoids-acellular pertussis vaccination: A randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics. 117 (2006) 620-625
105. Taddio A., Manley J., and Potash L. Routine immunization practices: Use of topical anesthetics and oral analgesics. Pediatrics. 120 (2007) e637-e643
106. El-Radhi A.S., and Barry W. Do antipyretics prevent febrile convulsions?. Arch Dis Child. 88 (2003) 641-642
107. Uhari M., Rantala H., Vainionpaa L., and Kurttila R. Effect of acetaminophen and of low intermittent doses of diazepam on prevention of recurrences of febrile seizures. J Pediatr. 126 (1995) 991-995
108. Schnaiderman D., Lahat E., Sheefer T., and Aladjem M. Antipyretic effectiveness of acetaminophen in febrile seizures: Ongoing prophylaxis versus sporadic usage. Eur J Pediatr. 152 (1993) 747-749