Evaluation of Fever and Its Related Factors during 4 Weeks after Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty

Yoshinori Ishii, Hideo Noguchi, Mitsuhiro Takeda, Junko Sato, Takeshi Yamamoto, Yo-Ichiro Domae

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shibata Prefectural Hospital, Shibata, Japan.
Ishii Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Clinic, Gyoda, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ss.2013.41001                

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence and characteristics of postoperative fever (POF; ≥38℃) and clarify the correlation between POF and febrile-related factors during 4 weeks after primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). A total of 56 patients were included in the study (67 THAs). The preoperative diagnosis for all patients was osteoarthritis. The average follow-up period was 90 months. No patients developed deep infection during the follow-up period. The maximum mean peak daily temperature was 37.7℃ on the day of the surgery and the next day. Fifty-two percent of patients experienced POF, with most developing a maximum temperature (MT) on the day of surgery and the latest occurring by postoperative day (POD) 3. Only C-reactive protein (R = 0.384, p = 0.001) among the febrile-related factors had a weak correlation with MT. Four hips showed a POF of >38℃ later than POD 7; all four of these patients were diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. POF is common and may be part of a normal inflammatory response to tissue injury after THA. More than half of patients may develop POF within 1 week, with most developing MT on POD 0 and the latest occurring by POD 3. In addition, urinary tract infections might be an initial reason for POF in the subsequent 3 weeks.

Keywords

Total Hip Arthroplasty; Post-Operative Fever; Maximum Temperature; C-Reactive Protein; Urinary Tract Infection

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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