Background Fever in a patient in the intensive care unit necessitates
several nursing tasks. Moreover, factors associated with
increased patient care needs may be associated with fever.
Objective To identify relationships between fever and characteristics
of fever and nursing workload at the patient level.
Methods A prospective study was conducted in a medicalsurgical
intensive care unit. The sample consisted of 361
patients consecutively admitted from October 2005 to August
2006. Each patient’s body temperature was measured by using
a tympanic membrane or an axillary thermometer. The Therapeutic
Intervention Scoring System-28 was used to measure
nursing workload.
Results A total of 188 patients (52.1%) had fever. Mean daily
scores on the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System and on
5 of its 7 categories were significantly higher for febrile patients
than for nonfebrile patients. Fever was an independent predictor
of the mean daily scores for all patients (P < .001). Peak body
temperature but not duration of fever also was an independent
predictor of mean daily scores for febrile patients (P < .001).
Conclusion In a general intensive care unit, fever in patients
should be taken into consideration for the proper allocation of
nursing personnel. (American Journal of Critical Care. 2008;
17:522-533)