EFFICACY OF TEPID SPONGE BATH ON LOWERING TEMPERATURE IN FEBRILE PEDIATRIC PATIENTS AT HOSPITAL X

Abstract

This quasi-experiment using non-equivalent control group design was conducted from January to June 2014 to identify the efficacy of tepid sponge bath among 60 febrile pediatric patients from 6 to 60 months old with temperature range of 37.8 – 38.9 degrees Celsius. Using criterion sampling technique, participants were divided into two, the TSB and the without TSB. T-test for dependent samples was used to identify the changes in body temperature while T-test of Independent samples was used to identify the difference in change of body temperature between the two groups. A three-part checklist was used to gather data. Results showed that both groups lowered their temperature significantly after 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. There was bigger decrease in the temperature after 15 and 30 minutes with the TSB group but after 60, 90 and 120 minutes, there was no more significant difference between the two groups.