Symptoms and rate of temperature change in febrile outpatients

Although patient comfort is a frequent rationale for antipyretic therapy, there have been few systematic studies of relationships between temperature and comfort. In this study, adult outpatients with febrile illnesses were asked to complete a symptom diary at multiple time points at which temperature was recorded. Temperature readings showed modest correlation (0.316) with scores of "feeling better or worse" and moderate correlation (0.586) with aggregate symptom scores. Rate of temperature change showed low levels of correlation (< 0.25) with both measurements. Direction of temperature change was not significantly associated with overall subjective score of "feeling better or worse" although aggregate symptom scores were slightly higher with rising than falling temperature. These findings suggest that temperature is a partial determinant of morbidity in minor febrile illnesses but contribution of temperature change to well being may be small. Further study is needed to determine the appropriate priority of temperature reduction in symptomatic therapy.