107.1!

altomga, ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN · Jan 30, 2004

The highest temp I have ever seen on a patient was just under 110 F...RECTALLY...probably got higher, but the family requested that the cooling blanket be turned off after I explained the whole temp regulation in the brain when dying the way this patient was.....

My DD had a temp of 106 when she was 1 with a febrile seziure...

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2004

Originally posted by mjlrn97
Holy moly!! What happened to the patient after this??

Actually pt. did o.k. We kept him on our floor because he was already intubated and a DNR and md didn't want him in the unit. With multiple IV boluses and a cooling blanket, he was o.k. when I came back in (went into work to cover 3 hours for someone). I told him he gave me a scare and the smiled and said thank you. (Wasn't my patient, but I was there and in charge when it happened.)

Several of you mentioned very high temps in children. Seems like ultra-high temps in adults is rare. Probably because it's incompatable with life, duh. :)

110!!!!! Now that's high! Cripsy critter there.

a_crftyldy · Jan 30, 2004

I spiked a temp of 106 when I was just three years old. It was d/t a severe case of tonsilitis and my mother said that I had hallucinations of spiders crawling on me. She told me that I would thrash around screaming to get the spiders off and hit myself to the point of leaving bruises (I was trying to smack them off of me).

My oldest son used to run temps of 104 when he either got the flu or his vaccinations.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2004

Originally posted by jnette
WOW !

Kind of makes you want to go back to med-surg doesn't it?

Dave ARNP · Jan 30, 2004

Highest one that ever lived was 106.9

Had one turn into extra crispy before I got a page to the floor stat. He was 108.8. I think I was 109 when I found out he had been this way for almost an hour and no one called me.

Dave

BarbPick · Jan 30, 2004

Tweey,

Are you sure that was a temp and not the frequency of a radio station? 107.1 on your FM dial?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2004

Originally posted by BarbPick
Tweey,
Are you sure that was a temp and not the frequency of a radio station? 107.1 on your FM dial?

:)

If I hadn't taken the temp myself I would have never believed it either. Although 107.something is a great oldies station here.

:)

V. Nightingale · Jan 30, 2004

The highest I've seen was 105+; it occured in a patient who was a few days post craniotomy. Apparently his hypothalamus took exception to the disturbance. We wrapped him in a cooling blanket and place bags of ice on his neck, armpits, and groin. Whatever the problem was seemed to sort itself out, because the next day he was fine.

The lowest I've ever seen was 92 degrees (rectally) in an elderly woman who had fallen in the night and laid on her bathroom floor, beneath the window, for several hours wearing only a nightgown. She presented to the ER as a possible stroke (decreased LOC, weakness, etc), but when I touched her arm to put a blood pressure cuff on she felt like a Popsicle! We wrapped her in a bear hugger and hung some warm saline, and after a little while her "stroke" symptoms began to subside. IIRC the patient did pretty well afterward.

TMPaul · Jan 30, 2004

I had a temp of 105.8 when I was admitted with septic shock, hepatic, and renal failure secondary to dehydration (took 6 liters to semi-rehydrate me) and a C. Difficile infection.

uk_nurse · Jan 30, 2004

the highest i've seen is 40.2c thats in a child as i'm paeds trained. We gave paracetamol, brufen , fan therapy and stripped them off apart from underwear. Child was 'glowing' did get temp down

Rapheal · Jan 30, 2004

106.0. Nursing home patient admitted with respiratory failure, aspiration pneumonia and a very long and involved medical history.

angelbear · Jan 31, 2004

Had one with temp of 105.7 did the whole tepid bath thing rectal ibuprofen didnt work. We do not have cooling blanket so we filled gloves with chipped ice and placed on pulse points it worked. Most of our are hypothermic dont have warming blankets either we put winter caps on them and warm blankets in the microwave it works. Ya do what ya gotta do.