I CONGRESO DIGITAL AEP. Libro de comunicaciones y casos clínicos

7 ISBN: 978-84-09-24491-1 ÁREA DE ESPECIALIDAD • ATENCIÓN PRIMARIA-PEDIATRÍA EXTRAHOSPITALARIA ASOCIACIÓN ESPAÑOLA DE PEDIATRÍA ESTUDIO. Caregivers knowledge, concerns and attitudes regarding fever Raquel Monteiro Costa 1 , Inês Ferreira Santos 2 , João Figueiral Ferreira 2 , Catarina Teixeira Resende 1 , Ana Paula Pinheiro 2 1 Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal 2 Unidade de Saúde Familiar Viseu Cidade, Viseu, Portugal INTRODUCCIÓN Y OBJETIVOS Fever is the most frequent sign of illness in pediatric age and one of the most common reasons parents seek medical attention in this age group. The aim of this study was to characterize the beliefs, habits and concerns of caregivers regarding newborns, children and adolescents’ fever, in order to demystify this topic. MÉTODOS A cross-sectional, descriptive and analytic survey was conducted by applying a questionnaire to pediatric patients’ caregivers that attended a general practi- tioner’s appointment from September to November 2019. Caregivers with a child aged between 0 and 15 years old were included. The participants were asked questions about sociodemographic data, the defini- tion andmeasurement of fever, antipyretics, compli- cations associatedwith fever and other interventions used to reduce fever before presenting to the primary care center. Descriptive analysis was performed using the Microsoft Excel® program. RESULTADOS A total of 72 parents/caregivers participated in this study. Thirty-five caregivers (48.6%) measured fever with the skin touch prior to presentation. Fifty-two parents (72.2%) knew the correct temperature defini- tion of fever for themeasured site. A digital thermom- eter was the choice for most parents (91.7%) and the preferred site for measurement was axillary region (79.2%). Paracetamol was the most frequently used antipyretic (55.6%). Thirty parents (41.7%) failed to administer the correct antipyretic dose. High fever worried the participants, being that 88.9% of them considered it causing a health problem. Fifty-three caregivers (82.8%) believed that not treated fe- ver could cause seizures. 38.9% of the participants sought medical care as soon as the fever appears or in the first two days of illness. The primary care center was the setting of election for only 37.3% of the respondents. CONCLUSIONES Nowadays, wrong perceptions and attitudes towards fever persist as an anxiety factor in caregivers. Par- ents share important misconceptions about defi- nition, treatment, and consequences of childhood fever and a substantial rate tend to treat fever with wrong doses. Thus, it is essential to improve knowl- edge and change attitudes about the approach and treatment of fever and upgrade the care delivery of children and adolescents with fever.