ABSTRACT
Fever is common in the intensive care unit (ICU), occurring in approximately 70% of admissions. Infective and non-infective processes cause fever in approximately an equal proportion of patients. An accurate and precise evaluation of body temperature is necessary to attend to ICU patients. Fever control using external cooling decreased early mortality in septic shock. The possible adverse effects of fever suppression were reported in a prospective randomized controlled trial evaluating aggressive temperature control versus permissive hyperthermia in 82 ICU patients. Permissive hyperthermia through avoidance of acetaminophen in known or suspected infection in the intensive care unit trial was a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-control study conducted at 22 centers across Australia and New Zealand. Administration of acetaminophen to lower the temperature in patients with fever and infection is broadly used in hospitalized patients, including those in the ICU where its use has been reported between 58% and 70% of patients per day.
