Definition and assessment of fever-related discomfort in pediatric literature: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT: Guidelines advocate that the symptomatic management of fever should prioritize alleviating the child's discomfort. We investigated the definition and assessment of discomfort in febrile children within the scientific pediatric literature. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines and preregistered on the Prospero database (CRD42023471590). Databases including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane were searched. Studies addressing discomfort in febrile children were eligible. Out of 794 initially identified articles, 27 original studies and seven guidelines specifically used the term 'discomfort'. Only 14 original articles provided a definition of discomfort, revealing substantial heterogeneity and no clear-cut definition. Discomfort was often assessed subjectively,

SUBMITTER: Milani GP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11478972 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature