Factors Affecting the Presence of Fever in Children Brought to the Emergency Department with Fever Complaint

Year 2019, Volume: 13 Issue: 2, 212 - 218, 18.06.2019

Barış Karabulut Kenan Topal , Çiğdem Gereklioğlu , Hüseyin Aksoy Ümit Çelik

https://doi.org/10.21763/tjfmpc.569886

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge,
attitudes and behaviors of the parents of the children about fever who applied
to the Pediatric Emergency Department with the complaints of fever, and to
investigate the factors affecting fever in children. Method: This cross-sectional study included the parents of 509
children who were taken to Adana Numune Training and Research Hospital
Pediatric Emergency Department with fever complaint between 01.06.2014 and
30.09.2014.Parents' demographic data was recorded.The knowledge, attitude and
behavior of the mothers and fathers about the fever and the degree of fear from
fever were investigated. Body temperaturein admission was recorded.The
chi-square test and Spearman correlation analyses were used to compare the
factors affecting the fever in children. Results:
The mean age of the children, mothers and fathers were 66.4±53.7 months,
32.3±6.5 years and 36.5±7 years respectively. Of the mothers 53.4% and of the
fathers 45% were primary or secondary school graduates. Of the mothers 89.6%
were housewives and of the fathers 91.9% had a regular job. Of the families
48.3% had a low income level. Body temperature measurements in admissions to
the emergency department revealed that 365 (71.7%) children had a fever. And
22% of the mothers stated that they were extremely afraid of their children
having a fever.The fear of fever was found to be significantly decreased as the
education level of the mother increased (X2 = 22.694, p = 0.030). Presence of
the true fever in emergency department admission was positively correlated with
the father's working status, maternal education level and high family income
level (X2=7.148, p=0.008, X2=4.11, p= 0.043,X2=10.020,p=0.002, respectively).
Additionally, the number of people living at home and the number of children at
home were negatively correlated with true high temperature measurements in the
emergency department (r= –0.103, p=0.020, r= –0.091, p=0.041, respectively). Conclusion: We found that rate of true
fever cases in the emergency department was affected by the number of people
and children living at home, the mother's educational status, the father’s
working status of and the average income level of the family.We hope that our
findings will contribute to the studies being performed to prevent unnecessary
admissions to pediatric emergency departments.

Giriş: Çocuk Acil Servisine yüksek ateş yakınmasıyla başvuran
çocukların anne babalarının ateşle ilgili bilgi, tutum ve davranışları
belirlenerek çocuklarda gerçekten yüksek ateş varlığı üzerinde etkili olan
faktörlerin araştırılması amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem:
Bu kesitsel çalışma, l Haziran 2014-30 Eylül 2014 tarihleri arasında Adana
Numune Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Çocuk Acil Servisine yüksek ateş şikayeti
ile başvuran 509 hastanın aileleri ile yapıldı. Ailelerin demografik veriler
kaydedildi, anne babanın ateşle ilgili bilgi, tutum ve davranışları, ateş
korkularının derecesi araştırıldı ve başvuru anında ateşin kaç derece olduğu
kaydedildi. Çocukların ateşi gerçekten yüksek olması üzerine etkili olan
faktörlerin karşılaştırılmasında Ki-Kare testi ve Spearmann korelasyon analizi
kullanıldı. Bulgular: Çalışmaya
alınan çocukların yaş ortalaması 66.4±53.7 ay, annelerin yaş ortalaması 32.3±
6.5 yıl ve babaların yaş ortalaması 36.5± 7 yıl idi. Annelerin%53.4’ü ve
babaların ise %45’i ilkokul ve ortaokul eğitimi almışlardı. Annelerin %89.6’sı
çalışmayan ev hanımları iken babaların %91.9’unun düzenli bir işi vardı.
Ailelerin %48.3’ü düşük gelir düzeyine sahipti. Çocuk Acil Serviste yapılan
ölçüm sonucu 365 (%71.7) çocuğun ise ateşi vardı. Annelerin %22.0’si
çocuklarının ateşinin yükselmesinden çok fazla korktuklarını belirttiler. Ateş
korkusunun annenin eğitim durumu arttıkça anlamlı olarak azaldığı bulunmuştur
(X2=22.694, p=0.030).Acil Servis başvurusunda çocuğun gerçekten ateşinin olması
üzerinde babanın çalışma durumu,anne eğitim düzeyi ve ailenin gelir düzeyinin
yüksek olması etkili bulunmuştur (sırasıyla X2=7.148, p=0.008, X2=4.11, p=
0.043,X2=10.020,p=0.002). Ayrıca evdeki yaşan kişi sayısı ve çocuk sayısı
arttıkça acil serviste ateşin gerçekten yüksek ölçülme oranının azaldığı
görülmüştür (sırasıyla r= –0.103, p=0.020, r= –0.091, p=0.041). Sonuç: Acil servis başvurusunda ateşin
gerçekten yüksek ölçülmesinin evde yaşayan kişi ve çocuk sayısından, annenin
eğitim durumu, babanın çalışma durumu ve ailenin ortalama gelir düzeyinden
etkilendiğini bulduk. Bulgularımızın çocuk acil servislerine gereksiz
başvuruların önüne geçilmesi amacıyla yapılacak çalışmalara katkı sağlamasını
umuyoruz.

Keywords

Fever, Children, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice

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