Healthcare professionals approach paediatric fever in significantly different ways and fever phobia is not just limited to parents

AIM: Fever is a benign process, but it is still frequently regarded as harmful. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge of parents and healthcare professionals on fever. METHODS: Data were obtained through questionnaires administered to a sample of parents and nurses in the paediatric emergency rooms of two hospitals and to family doctors and paediatricians currently practising in Portugal. RESULTS: We collected 265 answers from parents, 49 from nurses and 525 from doctors. Most nurses (74%), doctors (55%) and parents (43%) considered fever as a temperature above 38°C. The parents' first reaction to a febrile child was to give them antipyretics, and acetaminophen was used most frequently (44%). Nurses considered that a child with fever must always be treated and that a history of febrile seizures was the most decisive factor in initiating treatment. On the other hand, the most important factor for paediatricians was the presence of discomfort. For parents (74%) and nurses (92%), the most feared effect of untreated fever was seizures, and for paediatricians (97%), it was irritability. CONCLUSION: The parents' and nurses' attitudes demonstrated fear of fever and its consequences. The approach to paediatric fever was significantly different among healthcare professionals.