Fever assessment in children under five: Are we following the guidelines?

Table 3 Distribution of the recorded body temperature and its relation to heart rate and respiratory rate

Parameter	Fever (≥ 38 oC), n = 36 (26.5)	No fever (< 38 oC), n = 100 (73.5)	P value (95%CI)
Temperature (degree Celsius)	38.2 (38.2-38.9)	37 (36.8-37)	< 0.0011
Heart rate (beat per minute)	140 ± 24	126 ± 20	0.001 (5.8-21.9)2
Respiratory rate (breath per minute) (n = 135)	28 (24-34)	33 (24-40)	0.1071

¹Mann-Whiteny U test.

²Student’s t test.

Boldface indicates a statistically significant difference with P < 0.05. Data are presented as median (interquartile range) or mean ± SD.