Resumo

FIGUEROA, Fabio Nelson et al. Detecting, managing and maternal perception of fever in children, Cali, Colombia. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2012, vol.60, n.1, pp.40-49. ISSN 0120-0011.

Background. Fever is one of the main motives for paediatric medical consultation. Some parents may suffer from fever phobia when they lack the pertinent information. This is characterised by irrational, exaggerated fear regarding fever, associated with erroneous beliefs about its origin and outcome, leading to inappropriate behaviour being assumed for detecting and managing febrile episodes in the home. Objectives. Identifying the ways of detecting and treating fever in the home used by a group of mothers, as well as their perceptions concerning this matter. Material and methods. This was a cross-sectional study which involved 208 mothers who had referred to fever in their children aged less than 15 years during the week immediately before consultation (between May-August 2008) and who had consulted the Siloé Health Centre or Fundación Clínica Infantil Club Noel emergency services in Cali, Colombia. Topics related to detecting and managing fever in the home and pertinent perceptions were dealt with. The techniques resorted to by the mothers were also identified, depending on whether they had a thermometer available for quantifying fever in their children. Results. 202 questionnaires were analysed. The most used method (alone or combined) for detecting fever was palpation (87%; 54% sensitivity). Medicaments involved preferred antipyretic therapy (98%), followed by physical methods: wet cloths/wipes (78%) and baths (55%). Acetaminophen was the most used drug (97%), 15% overdose being found. 79% of the mothers accepted feeling fear when they had to deal with fever; 65% had experienced anxiety. The risk of convulsions was their main worry (65%). 95% considered that serious fever occurred at temperatures less than 40°C. Conclusions. Most mothers had a fear of fever («fever phobia» for some of them). Some inappropriate behaviour was noted such as a preference for the palpatory method when using a thermometer, high rate of antipyretic therapy use, fear of convulsions, overestimating temperatures for serious fever and the belief that fever in itself is a disease.

Palavras-chave : fever; children; fever phobia; treatment; antipyretics.

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