The American journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effects of physical treatment on induced fever in humans.
Initial treatments for fever include the amelioration of underlying causes and administration of antipyretic medications. However, patients who fail these treatments are often actively cooled, which may be counterproductive because decreasing skin temperature increases the thermoregulatory core target temperature. Cooling may also provoke metabolic and autonomic stress and thermal discomfort. ⋯ We conclude that active cooling should be avoided in unsedated patients with moderate fever, because it does not reduce core temperature but does increase metabolic rate, activate the autonomic nervous system, and provoke thermal discomfort.