Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control-Online Journal

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Survey on the Actual Frequency of Fever among Residents of Intensive-Care Geriatric Homes

Kazuki YOSHIMOTO¹⁾ and Ritsuko IUCHI²⁾
¹⁾Faculty of Nursing, Shitennoji University, ²⁾Graduate School of Nursing, Seisen University

Several residents of intensive-care geriatric homes have underlying diseases or comorbidity, making them prone to developing fever due to infection. This study aimed to clarify the actual frequency of fever among residents of an intensive-care geriatric home and to identify the factors associated with the occurrence of fever. The medical records of 295 residents of five intensive-care geriatric homes in the Kinki region, Japan were retrospectively reviewed. Primary tabulations included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), presence of underlying disease, level of care required, requirement for mealtime assistance, requirement for voiding assistance, means of transportation, use of indwelling urinary catheter, and onset of fever. The association between variables were then analyzed. Only 134 patients consented to participate in the study; 84 developed fever that required a doctor's examination over a 1-year period and had a total of 175 visits. The most common diagnoses at the time of fever were common cold, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, aspiration pneumonia, and bronchitis, accordingly. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that geriatric patients with underlying medical conditions and those who needed dietary assistance were more likely to develop fever than those who did not. The results of this study suggest that thorough infection control measures for residents of intensive-care geriatric homes with underlying medical conditions and those who require dietary assistance may contribute in reducing the risk of developing fever.

Key words：nursing home, fever, infection prevention, infection control, hand hygiene

e-mail: yoshik＠shitennoji.ac.jp

Received: February 17, 2022
Accepted: May 7, 2022

37 (5)：198─203,2022