This study assessed the relationship between fever characteristics in patients in a 14-bed Greek medical-surgical intensive care unit (ICU) and the unit’s nursing workload as measured by the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS)-28 score. Of the 361 patients studied in an 11-month period, 188 (52.1%) exhibited a fever. Mean daily TISS-28 scores were significantly higher in febrile patients. In examining fever characteristics, the researchers found that peak temperature was an independent predictor of nursing workload.

Patient care needs associated with basic activities; ventilatory, metabolic, and neurological support; and specific interventions such as surgical or diagnostic interventions were higher in febrile patients. The results of the study suggest that fever should be considered when predicting patient care needs and nursing workload in the ICU.

Panagiotis Kiekkas, rn, msc, phd, lead author of this EBR article, explained that the focus of the study was to examine the clinical...

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