Which Drugs for the Control of Fever in Critical Patients

Authors: Fumagalli, R.; Bellani, G.; Perri, A.

Source: Current Drug Targets, Volume 10, Number 9, September 2009 , pp. 881-886(6)

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

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Abstract:

It has been estimated that nosocomial fever occurs in approximately one-third of hospitalized patients. The incidence is even higher in critically-ill patients in whom both infectious and noninfectious etiologies of fever are common. Polypeptide cytokines (endogenous pyrogens) such as interleukin-1b (IL-1b), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) act directly on the hypothalamus to affect a fever response by promoting an increase in heat generation and a decrease in heat loss. There is widespread acceptance that in most if not all critically ill neurologic patients fever should be treated but still it is not clear if fever per se in nonneurologic critically ill patients should be treated too. We review physical and pharmacological methods presently utilized to treat fever in critically ill patients.

Keywords: Fever; critically-ill patients; NSAIDs; acetaminophen; steroids; diclofenac

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138945009789108828

Publication date: 2009-09-01

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Current Drug Targets aims to cover the latest and most outstanding developments on the medicinal chemistry and pharmacology of molecular drug targets e.g. disease specific proteins, receptors, enzymes, genes. Each issue of the journal will be devoted to a single timely topic, with series of in-depth reviews, written by leaders in the field, covering a range of current topics on drug targets. These issues will be organized and led by a guest editor who is a recognized expert in the overall topic. As the discovery, identification, characterisation and validation of novel human drug targets for drug discovery continues to grow; this journal will be essential reading for all pharmaceutical scientists involved in drug discovery and development.