Hyperthermia

[SwansonRN]

I am curious about your patients with extreme hyperthermia. What was their Tmax? What was the cause (environmental, drugs, infection...) and did the patient survive? I have been very interested in the patho behind high fevers ever since a very challenging case I had a few weeks ago.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

Septic dialysis patient, I just remember the temp being >105 and had been that way for a day or two. It was at the conclusion of a long complicated hospital stay wherein all the rest of his organs proceeded to fail, I think his legs had also become necrotic. He was DNR and I only cared for him a couple of hours before it was all over.

I remember calling his brother to notify him of the gentleman's passing. The brother had been the medical power of attorney and was in on all the medical decisions as the patient became sicker and non-communicative. I remember being stunned that he asked me the cause of death. I thought to myself "Where have you been?"

[jmdRN]

My own son, while fighting a post H1N1 pneumonia hit 40.5 C oral temp when he was 6. came down to 38C with tylenol and motrin alternating, but was one wild (and scary) night trying to keep the fever down

[klone, MSN, RN]

I had a temp of 104.5/40.3 when I had the flu a few years ago. My PCP told me to go to the ED, and when they took my temp, they asked when I last had Tylenol. I told them I hadn't taken any because I wanted to see how high my temp would go. They were not amused.