Perception of fever and management practices by parents of pediatric patients

Abstract

Background: The febrile child is a common pediatric presentation in both primary care and the emergency department. An assessment of parents’ perception to recognize fever in their child, as well as management practices was the focus of this study. Methods: The study was done prospectively in which interviews were taken by researchers. One hundred and sixty four parents, whose children were less than 14 years old, had fever as one of the presenting complaints and admitted in pediatric department of Rama medical college & research center, Kanpur, were included in this study. Results: Majority of the parents 114 (69.51%) managed the fever initially at home. Only a few parents (17.07%) correctly managed the fever by taking their children to hospital or to a qualified practitioner, rest of the parents primarily rely on local medical store or unqualified practitioner. Conclusion: Parents need to be educated, when they consult health facilities especially during vaccination visits. Decreased appetite was the most common presenting complaint along with fever in children and it should be taken as a significant factor during health education of fever for early and appropriate consultation.