Page 39 - J Trad Med 21-1-2566

J Thai Trad Alt Med Vol. 21 No. 1 Jan-Apr 2023 19

Comparative Study of Tepid Sponging Using Ya Khiao-Hom and Traditional
Method for Reducing Body Temperatures on Pediatric Patients with
Pneumonia and High Fever: A Retrospective Case-Cohort Study

Pipatpong Kongkeaw , Nur-ainee Seba †
*,‡
* La-ngu hospital, Kamphaeng Sub-District, La-ngu District, Satun 91110, Thailand
† Kapho Hospital, Karubi Sub-District, Kapho District, Pattani 94230, Thailand.
‡ Corresponding author: kongkeaw@kkumail.com

Abstract

Fever and pneumonia caused by virus and bacterial infection are found among pediatric patients less than 5
years of age. Antibiotic therapies are currently used to kill germs in the lungs to reduce fever in children. However,
it is found that it takes such a long time for medicines to get into infected lungs while the fever is not getting reduced,
resulting in seizure in small children. Lowering body temperature of children with a high fever is an urgent
matter that needs to be solved immediately. According to Thai traditional medicine, the use of Ya Khiao-Hom for
wiping or sponging the body can bring down the fever in a short time, which is Thai traditional medicine wisdom
that helps reduce the fever. This research aimed to compare body temperature reduced to 37.4 ˚C within 4 hours
between pediatric patients with pneumonia and high fever who were given Ya Khiao-Hom sponging and the others
were given traditional sponging. The study was conducted as therapeutic research using retrospective cohort study
design from November 2020 to February 2021 at Kapho Hospital, Pattani province. Retrospective data were collected
from patients’ medical records. Inclusion criteria were pediatric patients aged below 5 years who had been diag-
nosed with pneumonia, had a fever over 38 ˚C, and underwent treatment with antibiotics. Exclusion criteria were
patients who had been referred to other hospitals or those who received two types or more of antibiotics. The
research participants were given either traditional method or Ya Khiao-Hom tepid sponging, ordered by diagnosis
physicians while they underwent the treatment. Correct tepid sponging was taught by nurses on duty in patient ward.
The experimental group received 2 grams of Ya Khiao-Hom to 1 liter water and the control group received 1 liter
water for tepid sponging. For each patient, the body temperature at admission and every 4 hours was measured with
a thermometer and recorded. The study revealed that among all 34 patients in the study, in both groups, their general
characteristics were not different. The mean temperatures at 4 hours of the Ya Khiao-Hom and traditional sponge
groups were 37.24 (± 0.63) ˚C and 37.70 (± 0.63) ˚C, respectively (p-value = 0.044), the mean body temperature
dropped by 0.53 (95% CI: -0.90, -0.17) ˚C (p-value 0.005), and the mean hospital length of stay declined by 0.81
day (95% CI: -1.58 , -0.03) (p-value = 0.043).

Key words: Ya Khiao-Hom, tepid sponging, pediatric patient with pneumonia, fever reduction

บทน�ำและวัตถุประสงค์ อัตราการเสียชีวิตร้อยละ 0.1 การรักษาในปัจจุบัน
[2]
ผู้ป่วยเด็กที่มีภาวะไข้ (fever) ในโรคปอดอักเสบ มีการใช้ยาปฏิชีวนะฆ่าเชื้อในปอด การทานยาลดไข้

(pneumonia) ซึ่งมีสาเหตุจากการติดเชื้อไวรัสและ ร่วมกับการเช็ดตัวจึงจะลดไข้ในเด็กลงได้ จากการ
แบททีเรียพบได้ในเด็กอายุน้อยกว่า 5 ปี โดยมีความ สังเกตในขณะปฏิบัติงานมักพบว่ายาปฏิชีวนะใช้เวลา
[1]
ชุกที่ 3,100 คนต่อแสนประชากรในเด็กอายุ 0-4 ปี นานกว่าระดับยาที่เหมาะสมส�าหรับการรักษา ภาวะ
[3]