Trial reportBMJ open2021
Establishing and augmenting views on the acceptability of a paediatric critical care randomised controlled trial (the FEVER trial): a mixed methods study.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
An Observational Study of the Epidemiology of Fever Due to Infection in Critically Ill Children Following an Unplanned Admission to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit
Feasibility and Efficacy of Ambulance-Based m-Health for Pediatric Emergencies in Low Resource Settings (FEAMER) Trial
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Surviving Sepsis Campaign International Guidelines for the Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock in Children 2026.Intensive care medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Definition and assessment of fever-related discomfort in pediatric literature: a systematic review.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Questioning approaches to consent in time critical obstetric trials: findings from a mixed-methods study.BMJ open · 2024Trial
- Use of selective gut decontamination in critically ill children: PICnIC a pilot RCT and mixed-methods study.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Trial
- Stakeholders' perspectives on clinical trial acceptability and approach to consent within a limited timeframe: a mixed methods study.BMJ open · 2024Trial
- "What is data?" Learnings from paediatric patient and sibling involvement in co-producing a research communication tool for children and young people.Research involvement and engagement · 2026Article
- The Paediatric Intensive Care Adaptive Platform Trial (PIVOTAL): Turning Pediatric Critical Care Practice Into Clinical Research.Pediatric critical care medicine : a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies · 2026Article
- Enhancing communication with bereaved relatives about emergency and critical care trials (ENHANCE): a mixed-methods study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Acceptability of Sharing Internet Browsing History for Cancer Research: Think-Aloud and Interview Study.JMIR cancer · 2026Article
- Developing an adaptive paediatric intensive care unit platform trial with key stakeholders: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Article
- Acceptability of a proposed practice pharmacist-led review for opioid-treated patients with persistent pain: A qualitative study to inform intervention development.British journal of pain · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Warming up for a better fever: a randomized pilot study in pediatric oncology.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo explore parent and staff views on the acceptability of a randomised controlled trial investigating temperature thresholds for antipyretic intervention in critically ill children with fever and infection (the FEVER trial) during a multi-phase pilot study.
designMixed methods study with data collected at three time points: (1) before, (2) during and (3) after a pilot trial.
settingEnglish, Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs).
participants(1) Pre-pilot trial focus groups with pilot site staff (n=56) and interviews with parents (n=25) whose child had been admitted to PICU in the last 3 years with a fever and suspected infection, (2) Questionnaires with parents of randomised children following pilot trial recruitment (n=48 from 47 families) and (3) post-pilot trial interviews with parents (n=19), focus groups (n=50) and a survey (n=48) with site staff. Analysis drew on Sekhon
resultsThere was initial support for the trial, yet some held concerns regarding the proposed temperature thresholds and not using paracetamol for pain or discomfort. Pre-trial findings informed protocol changes and training, which influenced views on trial acceptability. Staff trained by the FEVER team found the trial more acceptable than those trained by colleagues. Parents and staff found the trial acceptable. Some concerns about pain or discomfort during weaning from ventilation remained.
conclusionsPre-trial findings and pilot trial experience influenced acceptability, providing insight into how challenges may be overcome. We present an adapted theoretical framework of acceptability to inform future trial feasibility studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: ISRCTN16022198 and NCT03028818.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.