Community use of paracetamol and ibuprofen in children with fever.

OBJECTIVE

To establish, in children aged from 3 months to less than 13 years with a febrile illness, caregiver medication usage patterns and drivers. Secondary objectives assessed caregiver knowledge and concern about fever.

METHODOLOGY

This was a prospective, observational study of a convenience sample of 147 children presenting to a tertiary Paediatric Emergency Department, where the caregivers reported a concern of fever within the preceding 48 h. A paper-based survey was completed by the caregivers, and the results analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively.

RESULTS

Caregivers of 92.4% had administered medication for fever in the 48 h prior to presentation. Dual therapy of paracetamol and ibuprofen was used by 45.8%, with paracetamol used more frequently as monotherapy (35.4%). Almost one-third of caregivers woke their child to administer medication. Just over one-third of respondents stated that a temperature of less than 38.0°C is a fever. The majority of caregivers (67.6%) said that fever is bad for their child, with 97.9% being concerned by fever. Almost half the children (46.8%) were given medication purely to treat the degree of the temperature. General practitioners were reported as the strongest influence on medication decision (60%).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides insight into current knowledge and practices of parents regarding fever and its treatment. The results of this study may be used to direct future interventions to educate caregivers on this topic.