Author(s)

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.

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.

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

Ishii, Y. , Noguchi, H. , Takeda, M. , Sato, J. , Yamamoto, T. and Domae, Y. (2013) Evaluation of Fever and Its Related Factors during 4 Weeks after Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty. Surgical Science, 4, 1-6. doi: 10.4236/ss.2013.41001.