Abstract
Postoperative fever is defined as a temperature greater than 101.3 °F. In its most basic form, fever is the manifestation of specific cytokine release, most commonly IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma. These cytokines are released by tissue trauma and do not necessarily signal infection. Most early postoperative fevers (postoperative days 1–2) are caused by the inflammatory stimulus of surgery and resolve spontaneously. However, efflux of these cytokines is also stimulated by bacterial endotoxins and exotoxins possibly indicative of an infectious cause. The timing of fever relative to the day of surgery provides a consistent and formulaic approach to generating a differential diagnosis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gross, K. (2015). Postoperative Fever. In: Saclarides, T., Myers, J., Millikan, K. (eds) Common Surgical Diseases. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1565-1_85
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1565-1_85
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1564-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1565-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)