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Is Fever Beneficial?

  • Chapter
Clinical Manual of Fever in Children

  • #x203A; Fever has a long evolutionary history, which by itself supports the hypothesis that fever is an adaptive host response to infection.

  • › There is considerable evidence that fever promotes host defense against infection.

  • › Complications and mortality associated with high fever >40°C are closely related to the severity of the underlying disease, not to the level of fever.

  • › Fever is effectively controlled by the hypothalamic centre and therefore does not climb up relentlessly. Temperatures >42°C are often caused by hyperthermia, not by fever.

  • › If the febrile child is comfortable, there is little reason to support the practice of routine use of antipyretic medication.

  • › Parental education is critical in the management of the febrile child.

  • › Antipyretics do not prevent febrile seizures.

  • › There is a conflict between research evidence supporting a positive role of fever and the demands of current practice that fever be abolished.

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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Consultant Paediatrician & Honorary Senior Lecturer, Medical School Denver Close Petts Wood, Orpington Kent, BR6 OSB, UK

    A. Sahib El-Radhi FRCPCH, MRCP,Ph.D, DCH

  2. Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology Vice-Chairman, Department of Neurology Chief, Section of Pediatric Neurology, The Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street Augusta, Georgia, 30912, USA

    James Carroll MD

  3. Division of Cell and Molecular Biology Institute of Child Health, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Infection and Immunology, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK

    Nigel Klein MBBS, BSc, PhD, MRCP, FRCPCH

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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(2009). Is Fever Beneficial?. In: El-Radhi, A.S., Carroll, J., Klein, N. (eds) Clinical Manual of Fever in Children. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78598-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78598-9_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-78597-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-78598-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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