1. Home>
2. Specialties>
3. General Medicine>
4. Summary and Comment

TREATING CHILDHOOD FEVERS: MOTHER AND FATHER DON'T ALWAYS KNOW BEST.

Fever, one of the most common symptoms in children, can be treated with acetaminophen at a dose of 10 to 15 mg per kilogram of body weight; smaller doses are ineffective. Gribetz and Cronley surveyed the fever-management practices of the parents of 96 children five years old and younger who presented to an inner-city walk-in clinic with a complaint of fever.

Almost all parents (92 percent) gave their children acetaminophen; however, 68 percent had given less than the recommended dose (6 percent had given more). Inappropriate dosing was more common for younger and smaller children. There was no relation between underdosing and parental age, education, or number of previous children. Twenty-six percent of parents who gave an acetaminophen elixir used an infant dropper, resulting in underdosing.

To ensure adequate fever control, physicians should explain the optimal dosage and the different concentrations of the various forms of acetaminophen.

— PMM

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine December 18, 1987

Citation(s):

Gribetz B; Cronley S A. Underdosing of acetaminophen by parents. Pediatrics 1987 Nov 80 630-633.

• Medline abstract (Free)

2011 Year in Review