A general practitioner noted that the Australian immunisation handbook1 stated that "tepid sponging of children to reduce a fever of < 41°C is no longer routinely recommended, as there is no evidence to support the efficacy of this practice". He asked whether tepid sponging is effective in lowering a raised body temperature, and whether paracetamol might be more effective in reducing body temperature if combined with tepid sponging.
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- 1. National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia). The Australian Immunisation Handbook. 7th ed. Canberra : AGPS, 2000: 3.
- 2. PubMed clinical queries. PubMed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query/static/clinical.html (accessed April 2000).
- 3. Friedman AD, Barton LL. Efficacy of sponging vs acetaminophen for reduction of fever. Sponging Study Group. Pediatr Emerg Care 1990; 6: 6-7.
- 4. Agbolosu NB, Cuevas LE, Milligan P, et al. Efficacy of tepid sponging versus paracetamol in reducing temperature in febrile children. Ann Trop Paediatr 1997; 17: 283-288.
- 5. Aksoylar S, Aksit S, Caglayan S, et al. Evaluation of sponging and antipyretic medication to reduce body temperature in febrile children. Acta Paediatr Jpn 1997; 39: 215-217.
- 6. Sharber J. The efficacy of tepid sponge bathing to reduce fever in young children. Am J Emerg Med 1997; 15: 188-192.
- 7. Mahar AF, Allen SJ, Milligan P, et al. Tepid sponging to reduce temperature in febrile children in a tropical climate. Clin Pediatr 1994; 33: 227-231.
This search was conducted as part of a project supported by a General Practice Evaluation Project grant, GPEP 720, the AQUA project from the Department of Health and Family Services. Information about the project including clinical questions and answers, can be found at http://www.med.monash.edu.au/healthservices/cce/research/gpep.html.