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

Table 4 Compliance with The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines

Criterion1	Compliance
	Minimal (≤ 69%)	Partial (70%-95%)	Full (> 95%)
1: Fever is considered if temperature is 38 degrees Celsius or more	-	Yes	-
2: Do not routinely use oral or rectal routes to measure the body temperature of children 0-5 yr	-	-	Yes
3: In infants under the age of 4 wk, measure the body temperature with an electronic thermometer under the axilla	-	-	Yes
4: In children aged 4 wk to 5 yr, measure the body temperature by one of the following: Electrical thermometer to the axilla, chemical dot thermometer to the axilla, or infra-red tympanic thermometer	-	-	Yes
5: As part of routine assessment of children with fever: Record the heart rate	-	-	Yes
6: As part of routine assessment of children with fever: Record the respiratory rate	-	Yes	-
7: As part of routine assessment of children with fever: Record the capillary refill time	NR	NR	NR
8: Use of antipyretics in children with fever who appear distressed	-	-	Yes
9: In case of febrile patient, the temperature is reassessed 1-2 h after each anti-pyretic intake	Yes	-	-
10: The use of tepid sponging is not recommended for the treatment of fever	NR	NR	NR

¹The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline [NG143]: Fever in under 5s: Assessment and initial management. NR: Not reported.