NCT04925401

Evaluation of Knowledge About Fever After Consultation in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Evaluation of Knowledge About Fever After Consultation in the Pediatric Emergency Department: Standard Consultation Versus Standard Consultation With Distribution of an Information Leaflet About Fever in Pre-consultation

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 220 (actual)
• Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of an information brochure on parent / legal guardians' knowledge of what to do about their child's febrile episode after a pediatric emergency department visit. Single-center randomized controlled trial.

Detailed description

Fever is a common symptom of viral or bacterial infection in pediatrics. Previous studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods have established that intervention with parents/legal guardians on fever management decreases their worry and anxiety related to their child's occurrence of a febrile episode, limits unwise use of antipyretic medication (Walsh, 2006; Walsh, 2008; Peetom, 2017), but also reduces the use of emergency room or telephone medical consultations (Peetom, 2017). The majority of visits for febrile conditions in children over 3 months of age are avoidable and do not require emergency and/or hospital care. Mistaken beliefs and lack of knowledge about what to do in the event of a febrile episode lead parents to consult a hospital emergency room for their child, which can have an impact on emergency room overcrowding. The proportion of emergency room visits for febrile conditions assessed by the Intake and Referral Nurse (IOR) as not requiring urgent care raises questions about parents'/legal guardians' knowledge of fever, its monitoring, and what to do during a febrile episode. The aim of our study is to evaluate parents' knowledge of fever and the appropriate course of action during a febrile episode in a pediatric emergency department of a Parisian university hospital by comparing standard management practices with the knowledge provided by an information brochure.

Conditions

• Febrile Illness
• Fever
• Stress

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	The Information brochure will be created on the basis of information given by the French pediatric network Courlygone and the French National Authority for Health.	An information brochure on fever in children and how to deal with a paediatric febrile episode and usual medical management.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-11-02
• Primary completion: 2022-10-21
• Completion: 2022-10-21
• First posted: 2021-06-14
• Last updated: 2025-11-20

Locations

1 site across 1 country: France