Fever Flashcards
(57 cards)
What is the use of body temp elevation?
The elevation in body temperature
- activates T-cell production,
- increases the effectiveness of interferons 3. and limits the replication of some common viruses
Fever can be defined as an early morning oral temperature ____ or a temperature _______at other times of day
> 37.2°C
> 37.8°C
Oral temperature is about____ lower than core body temperature
0.4°C
Axillary temperature is about____ lower than core body temperature
0.5°C
Rectal, vaginal and ear drum temperatures are _____ higher than oral and reflect core body temperature
0.5°C
Fevers due to infections have an upper limit of______
40.5–41.1°C
T or F
Hyperthermia (temperature above 41.1°C) and
hyperpyrexia appear to have no upper limit
t
Drug fever should abate by _____hours after
discontinuation of the drug
48
Features of a true chill are _____ and _______ which is quite different from the chilly
teeth chattering and bed shaking,
Features of true chills
• shaking cannot be stopped voluntarily
• absence of sweating
• cold extremities and pallor (peripheral vascular
shutdown)
• dry mouth and pilo-erection: lasts 10–20
minutes
state when the body’s metabolic heat production or environmental heat load exceeds normal heat loss capacity
Hyperthermia or hyperpyrexia
This is the sudden onset of hot, dry, flushed skin with a rapid pulse, temperature above 40 ° C, and confusion or altered conscious state in a person exposed to a very hot environment
Heatstroke (sunstroke, thermic fever
In heat stroke:
The BP is usually _______
initially but circulatory collapse may precede
not affected
Mx of heat stroke
• Immediate effective cooling water applied to skin
• Icepacks at critical points (e.g. axillae, neck, head)
• Ice water bath if possible
• Aim to bring down temperature by 1 ° C every 10
minutes
This is a rare hereditary disorder characterised by rapidly developing hyperpyrexia, muscular rigidity
and acidosis in patients undergoing major surgery
Malignant hyperthermia
_______ is usually encountered in hospitalised patients attempting to malinger
Factitious fever
Characteristics of factitious fever
- a series of high temperatures is recorded to form an atypical pattern of fluctuation
- there is excessively high temperature (41.1 ° C) and above
The syndrome includes high temperature, muscle rigidity, autonomic dysfunction
and altered consciousness. It is a rare and potentially lethal reaction in patients taking antipsychotic drugs
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
Drugs asstd with NMS
haloperidol alone or with
other drugs especially lithium carbonate
Where to put thermometer if taking oral temp
Place under the tongue at the junction of the
base of the tongue and the floor of the mouth to one side of the frenulum—the ‘heat’ pocket. (mouth shut)
How to take oral temp
The rule is ‘3 cm in for 3 minutes
How to take vaginal temp (measure ovulation)
It should be placed deeply in the vagina for 5 minutes before leaving bed in the morning.
______is now accepted standard practice.
The tympanic membrane (TM) accurately reflects ______temperature, which in turn reflects core body temperature
Otic thermography
hypothalamic
According to Yung and Stanley it is helpful to consider fever in three categories: 1 2 3
less than 3 days duration;
between 4 and 14 days duration;
protracted fever (more than 14 days).
