Tepid Sponging to Reduce Temperature in Febrile Children in a Tropical Climate

• Published in: Clinical pediatrics 1994-04, Vol.33 (4), p.227-231
• Main Authors: Mahar, A.F., Allen, S.J., Milligan, P., Suthumnirund, S., Chotpitayasunondh, T., Sabchareon, A., Coulter, J.B.S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetaminophen - therapeutic use; Administration, Oral; Administration, Topical; Biological and medical sciences; Body Temperature; Child, Preschool; Cold Temperature; Combined Modality Therapy; Female; Fever - physiopathology; Fever - therapy; General aspects; Humans; Infant; Male; Medical sciences; Prospective Studies; Thailand; Time Factors; Tropical Climate; Tropical medicine; Virus Diseases - therapy; Water
• ISSN: 0009-9228; 1938-2707
• DOI: 10.1177/000992289403300407

The effectiveness of tepid sponging, in addition to antipyretic medication, in the reduction of temperature in febrile children living in a tropical environment, was assessed in a prospective, randomized, open trial. Seventy-five children aged between 6 and 53 months who attended the casualty department of the Children's Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, with fever (rectal temperature ≥38.5°C) of presumed viral origin were randomized to receive either tepid sponging and oral paracetamol (sponged group) or paracetamol alone (control group). Rectal temperature and the occurrence of crying, irritability, and shivering were recorded over the following 2 hours. A greater and more rapid fall in mean rectal temperature occurred in the sponged group than in the control group. Temperature fell below 38.5°C sooner in children in the sponged group than in control children (P