A general practitioner noted that the Australian immunisation handbook1 stated that "tepid sponging of children to reduce a fever of < 41°C is no longer routinely recommended, as there is no evidence to support the efficacy of this practice". He asked whether tepid sponging is effective in lowering a raised body temperature, and whether paracetamol might be more effective in reducing body temperature if combined with tepid sponging.
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This search was conducted as part of a project supported by a General Practice Evaluation Project grant, GPEP 720, the AQUA project from the Department of Health and Family Services. Information about the project including clinical questions and answers, can be found at http://www.med.monash.edu.au/healthservices/cce/research/gpep.html.