Background The lowering of body temperature is a common,almost reflexive step in the daily care of septic shock patient.However,the effect of different magnitudes of fever control on the outcome of refractory septic patients with a very poor outcome is controversial and has yet to be explored.Methods This prospective trial examined sixty-five refractory septic shock patients with a core temperature higher than 38.5℃.Patients were randomly assigned to a group achieving a "low temperature" range (LT group:36.0-37.5 ℃) or to a group achieving a "high temperature" range (HT group:37.5-38.3 ℃C) by physical methods including a water-flow cooling blanket and ice packs.A target core temperature was achieved in 1-2 hours post-treatment,and maintained for 72 hours.Averaged values of core temperature as well as hemodynamic,respiratory,and laboratory variables were analyzed at baseline and during the first 72 hours after fever control.Results Thirty-four (52.31％) patients were assigned to the LT group and thirty-one (47.

Chinese medical journal

septic shock; fever; body temperature