packing a child in ice for a fever of 105 degrees?

[TooterIA]

In report the other morning, night shift told us of a 8 year old who had a fever of 105 degrees axillary so they packed him in ice (put ice packs all around him) and gave him Tylenol. They were happy because his fever came down about 2 degrees every 30 minutes. I would like some recommendations on where I can look this up-I thought it is very not okay to pack a kid in ice for a fever. The child was awake, all other vitals normal. Diagnosis of the flu.

Jessica

[TooterIA]

Thanks for all the replies. I have no idea why they were in such a hurry to bring it down.

Jessica

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

Does this only apply to children? I ask because I work with oncology pts. A few weeks ago, I had a pt actively dying. He was nonresponsive and was placed on comfort care. When pts are on comfort care, we only do vitals q shift. Well, at 8pm he spiked a temp. He wasnt able to take anything orally and had a rectal abscess, so a tylenol suppository was also not an option. When I called the nurse practitioner, she came and evaluated the pt and told me to place some cold packs in wash clothes and apply them to his groin and axillary. His temp came down from 39.2 to 38. Was I wrong to do it? Or was it more to make the family feel like we were doing something? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thank you

During my tenure in hospice, I've treated unresponsive patients for fever using rectal suppositories and cool cloths. I honestly don't know if the patient actually felt more comfortable. On the chance it could help, I did not see the harm. It's treating a symptom, not curative, and totally within the realm of CMO.

When patients are CMO, there really isn't a lot of "wrong" you can do as long as you're honoring final wishes, giving respect and dignity to the dying process.