Clinical trial NCT04925401: Evaluation of Knowledge About Fever After Consultation in the Pediatric Emergency Department
Official title: Evaluation of Knowledge About Fever After Consultation in the Pediatric Emergency Department: Standard Consultation Versus Standard Consultation With Distribution of an Information Leaflet About Fever in Pre-consultation
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Febrile Illness
Fever
Stress
Keywords: Febrile episode
pediatric
pediatric emergency department
therapeutic education
Lead sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-06-14
Enrollment: 220
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of an information brochure on parent / legal guardians' knowledge of what to do about their child's febrile episode after a pediatric emergency department visit.

Single-center randomized controlled trial.

Detailed description: Fever is a common symptom of viral or bacterial infection in pediatrics. Previous studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods have established that intervention with parents/legal guardians on fever management decreases their worry and anxiety related to their child's occurrence of a febrile episode, limits unwise use of antipyretic medication (Walsh, 2006; Walsh, 2008; Peetom, 2017), but also reduces the use of emergency room or telephone medical consultations (Peetom, 2017).

The majority of visits for febrile conditions in children over 3 months of age are avoidable and do not require emergency and/or hospital care. Mistaken beliefs and lack of knowledge about what to do in the event of a febrile episode lead parents to consult a hospital emergency room for their child, which can have an impact on emergency room overcrowding.

The proportion of emergency room visits for febrile conditions assessed by the Intake and Referral Nurse (IOR) as not requiring urgent care raises questions about parents'/legal guardians' knowledge of fever, its monitoring, and what to do during a febrile episode.

The aim of our study is to evaluate parents' knowledge of fever and the appropriate course of action during a febrile episode in a pediatric emergency department of a Parisian university hospital by comparing standard management practices with the knowledge provided by an information brochure.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Be of legal age
* Be the parent/legal guardian of a child aged between 3 months and 15 years,
* A child with a fever \> 38°celsus on arrival at the emergency room (measured by electronic thermometer rectally for children under 2 years of age or axillary/oral for children over 2 years of age),
* Severity of care rating by the IOA grade 4 (non-emergency care)
* Parent affiliated to a social security system or entitled to it
* Parent under "AME" French social security system
* Parent informed and having signed the consent

Exclusion Criteria

* Parent/legal guardian who does not speak or read French,
* Child with a pathology that does not allow for rectal temperature taking
* Parent/legal guardian with a visual impairment that prevents reading the information note and/or the information brochure.
* Parent / legal guardian under guardianship

Primary outcomes:
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question about management of a paediatric febrile episode.
timeFrame: 1 day
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°1 about knowledge about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°2 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°3 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°4 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°5 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°6 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°8 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°9 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Number of participants with correct answer to question n°10 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode
timeFrame: 1 day
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Paris
country: France
facility: APHP Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris
Study officials:
affiliation: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
name: Hélène CHAPPUY, MD, PhD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References:
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