The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of three methods of managing fever in the neurologic patient.
Patients with neurological dysfunction can suffer fevers due to irritation of, or damage to the temperature-regulating center in the brain, or a combination of both. Although hypothermic therapy is a critical treatment nurses often perform, the most effective cooling method has not been studied in the neurological patient. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effectiveness of three methods of fever reduction, and the effect of each on patient shivering. ⋯ The mean time necessary for the subject's temperature to return to 100 degrees F was calculated. A one-way analysis of variance of the time required to reach 100 degrees F was done to determine if a significant difference existed in rate of temperature reduction among the groups. The analysis revealed no statistically significant difference among the three methods, but a chi-square analysis indicated a significant relationship between shivering and the use of a hypothermia blanket.