Fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know?
Introduction: Fever is a leading cause of Pediatric visits. However, most studies used as reference for fever assessment had a cross-sectional design and were conducted in adults. Different and more precise fever definitions exist within the field of knowledge known as clinical thermometry. Aims: To assess basic knowledge of health professionals working in Pediatrics regarding fever physiopathology and clinical thermometry. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was performed between February and July 2014 through application of an anonymous closed-end questionnaire to health professionals. Results: From 426 questionnaires applied, 29% were completed by nurses and 71% by physicians. Within the whole group, 89% did not know how human normal temperature was determined, 70% did not recognize the individual definitions of fever, 33% acknowledged a subfebrile status, 39% did not recognize the most and least accurate anatomical sites for temperature measurement, and 57% did not recognize the dynamic difference between core and peripheral temperatures. Hyperthermia and fever definitions were confounded by 78% of nurses and 56% of physicians. Conclusions: Most health professionals surveyed had a limited knowledge of fever and clinical thermometry. The traditional oversimplification of this subject can lead to underestimation of true febrile statuses.
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Centro Hospitalar do Porto
2019
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oai:scielo:S0872-075420190004000042020-02-13Fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know?Neves,CatarinaLuz,Inês RomãoSalgado,Manuel Clinical thermometry fever healthcare professionals normal temperature Introduction: Fever is a leading cause of Pediatric visits. However, most studies used as reference for fever assessment had a cross-sectional design and were conducted in adults. Different and more precise fever definitions exist within the field of knowledge known as clinical thermometry. Aims: To assess basic knowledge of health professionals working in Pediatrics regarding fever physiopathology and clinical thermometry. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was performed between February and July 2014 through application of an anonymous closed-end questionnaire to health professionals. Results: From 426 questionnaires applied, 29% were completed by nurses and 71% by physicians. Within the whole group, 89% did not know how human normal temperature was determined, 70% did not recognize the individual definitions of fever, 33% acknowledged a subfebrile status, 39% did not recognize the most and least accurate anatomical sites for temperature measurement, and 57% did not recognize the dynamic difference between core and peripheral temperatures. Hyperthermia and fever definitions were confounded by 78% of nurses and 56% of physicians. Conclusions: Most health professionals surveyed had a limited knowledge of fever and clinical thermometry. The traditional oversimplification of this subject can lead to underestimation of true febrile statuses.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessCentro Hospitalar do PortoNascer e Crescer v.28 n.4 20192019-12-01info:eu-repo/semantics/articletext/htmlhttp://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0872-07542019000400004en10.25753/BirthGrowthMJ.v28.i4.17730 |
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Neves,Catarina Luz,Inês Romão Salgado,Manuel |
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Neves,Catarina Luz,Inês Romão Salgado,Manuel Fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know? |
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Neves,Catarina Luz,Inês Romão Salgado,Manuel |
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Neves,Catarina |
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Fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know? |
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Fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know? |
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Fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know? |
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Fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know? |
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Fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know? |
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fever and clinical thermometry: what do physicians and nurses really know? |
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Introduction: Fever is a leading cause of Pediatric visits. However, most studies used as reference for fever assessment had a cross-sectional design and were conducted in adults. Different and more precise fever definitions exist within the field of knowledge known as clinical thermometry. Aims: To assess basic knowledge of health professionals working in Pediatrics regarding fever physiopathology and clinical thermometry. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was performed between February and July 2014 through application of an anonymous closed-end questionnaire to health professionals. Results: From 426 questionnaires applied, 29% were completed by nurses and 71% by physicians. Within the whole group, 89% did not know how human normal temperature was determined, 70% did not recognize the individual definitions of fever, 33% acknowledged a subfebrile status, 39% did not recognize the most and least accurate anatomical sites for temperature measurement, and 57% did not recognize the dynamic difference between core and peripheral temperatures. Hyperthermia and fever definitions were confounded by 78% of nurses and 56% of physicians. Conclusions: Most health professionals surveyed had a limited knowledge of fever and clinical thermometry. The traditional oversimplification of this subject can lead to underestimation of true febrile statuses. |
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Centro Hospitalar do Porto |
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2019 |
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http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0872-07542019000400004 |
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