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The relationship between body temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate in children

P Davies1, I Maconochie

  • 1Paediatric Emergency Department, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK. patrick.davies@nuh.nhs.uk

Emergency Medicine Journal : EMJ
|August 25, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Increasing body temperature significantly impacts children's heart rate and respiratory rate. Fever increases heart rate by about 10 beats per minute per degree Celsius, aiding in distinguishing fever from shock in unwell children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Clinical Physiology
  • Vital Signs Monitoring

Background:

  • Fever is a common symptom in children presenting to emergency departments.
  • Accurate assessment of vital signs is crucial for diagnosing serious conditions in pediatric patients.
  • The relationship between elevated body temperature and changes in heart rate and respiratory rate requires precise quantification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the effect of increasing body temperature on heart rate and respiratory rate in children.
  • To establish a reliable metric for assessing fever-induced physiological changes in pediatric emergency settings.
  • To differentiate between fever-related tachycardia/tachypnea and signs of concurrent shock.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of triage data from two UK children's emergency departments (2003-2006).
  • Inclusion of data on pulse, temperature, respiratory rate, and age from 21,033 patients.
  • Exclusion of patients with hemodynamic shock to isolate the effect of fever.

Main Results:

  • Body temperature was identified as an independent determinant of heart rate.
  • An approximate increase of 10 beats per minute per degree Celsius was observed in heart rate.
  • Body temperature was also found to be an independent determinant of respiratory rate.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated body temperature independently increases heart rate and respiratory rate in children.
  • The quantified relationship (approx. 10 bpm/°C) aids in clinical assessment of febrile children.
  • This data helps differentiate fever-induced vital sign changes from potential underlying shock.
Abstract

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