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

NCT ID: NCT04925401

Last Updated: 2025-11-20

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

220 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-11-02

Study Completion Date

2022-10-21

Brief Summary

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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

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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

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Febrile Illness Fever Stress

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Caregivers

Study Groups

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Information brochure Arm

The experimental group will receive an information brochure on fever in children and how to deal with a febrile episode and usual medical management.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

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.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

An information brochure on fever in children and how to deal with a paediatric febrile episode and usual medical management.

Habitual care

The control group will receive the usual medical management

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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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.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Be of legal age
* Be the parent/legal guardian of a child aged between 3 months and 15 years,
* A child with a fever \> 38°celsus on arrival at the emergency room (measured by electronic thermometer rectally for children under 2 years of age or axillary/oral for children over 2 years of age),
* Severity of care rating by the IOA grade 4 (non-emergency care)
* Parent affiliated to a social security system or entitled to it
* Parent under "AME" French social security system
* Parent informed and having signed the consent

Exclusion Criteria

* Parent/legal guardian who does not speak or read French,
* Child with a pathology that does not allow for rectal temperature taking
* Parent/legal guardian with a visual impairment that prevents reading the information note and/or the information brochure.
* Parent / legal guardian under guardianship
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Hélène CHAPPUY, MD, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Locations

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APHP Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris

Paris, , France

Site Status

Countries

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France

References

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Schmitt BD. Fever phobia: misconceptions of parents about fevers. Am J Dis Child. 1980 Feb;134(2):176-81.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 7352443 (View on PubMed)

Poirier MP, Davis PH, Gonzalez-del Rey JA, Monroe KW. Pediatric emergency department nurses' perspectives on fever in children. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2000 Feb;16(1):9-12. doi: 10.1097/00006565-200002000-00003.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10698135 (View on PubMed)

Burokiene S, Kairiene I, Stricka M, Labanauskas L, Cerkauskiene R, Raistenskis J, Burokaite E, Usonis V. Unscheduled return visits to a pediatric emergency department. Medicina (Kaunas). 2017;53(1):66-71. doi: 10.1016/j.medici.2017.01.003. Epub 2017 Jan 31.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28233682 (View on PubMed)

Bereznicki BJ, Tucker MG, Beggs SA, Zosky GR, Bereznicki LR. Emergency department presentations of febrile children to an Australian public hospital. J Paediatr Child Health. 2018 Dec;54(12):1308-1313. doi: 10.1111/jpc.14071. Epub 2018 Jun 6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29874409 (View on PubMed)

Enarson MC, Ali S, Vandermeer B, Wright RB, Klassen TP, Spiers JA. Beliefs and expectations of Canadian parents who bring febrile children for medical care. Pediatrics. 2012 Oct;130(4):e905-12. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-2140. Epub 2012 Sep 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22966028 (View on PubMed)

Betz MG, Grunfeld AF. 'Fever phobia' in the emergency department: a survey of children's caregivers. Eur J Emerg Med. 2006 Jun;13(3):129-33. doi: 10.1097/01.mej.0000194401.15335.c7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16679875 (View on PubMed)

Morrison AK, Chanmugathas R, Schapira MM, Gorelick MH, Hoffmann RG, Brousseau DC. Caregiver low health literacy and nonurgent use of the pediatric emergency department for febrile illness. Acad Pediatr. 2014 Sep-Oct;14(5):505-9. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2014.05.001. Epub 2014 Jun 16.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24942934 (View on PubMed)

Walsh A, Edwards H. Management of childhood fever by parents: literature review. J Adv Nurs. 2006 Apr;54(2):217-27. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.03802.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16553708 (View on PubMed)

Walsh A, Edwards H, Fraser J. Parents' childhood fever management: community survey and instrument development. J Adv Nurs. 2008 Aug;63(4):376-88. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04721.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18727765 (View on PubMed)

Peetoom KK, Smits JJ, Ploum LJ, Verbakel JY, Dinant GJ, Cals JW. Does well-child care education improve consultations and medication management for childhood fever and common infections? A systematic review. Arch Dis Child. 2017 Mar;102(3):261-267. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2016-311042. Epub 2016 Jul 18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27432451 (View on PubMed)

Considine J, Brennan D. Effect of an evidence-based education programme on ED discharge advice for febrile children. J Clin Nurs. 2007 Sep;16(9):1687-94. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01716.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17727587 (View on PubMed)

Monsma J, Richerson J, Sloand E. Empowering parents for evidence-based fever management: An integrative review. J Am Assoc Nurse Pract. 2015 Apr;27(4):222-9. doi: 10.1002/2327-6924.12152. Epub 2014 Jul 25.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25066313 (View on PubMed)

Broome ME, Dokken DL, Broome CD, Woodring B, Stegelman MF. A study of parent/grandparent education for managing a febrile illness using the CALM approach. J Pediatr Health Care. 2003 Jul-Aug;17(4):176-83. doi: 10.1067/mph.2003.4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12847427 (View on PubMed)

Baker MD, Monroe KW, King WD, Sorrentino A, Glaeser PW. Effectiveness of fever education in a pediatric emergency department. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2009 Sep;25(9):565-8. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0b013e3181b4f64e.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19755888 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2021-A00643-38

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

APHP210578

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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