Postoperative fever specific to neuroendoscopic procedures

Abstract

The most common complication of neuroendoscopic surgery is postoperative fever without infection, although the details have not been discussed. The objective of this study was to clarify the clinical features and predicting factors of the postoperative fever following neuroendoscopic procedures. Between March 1998 and March 2013, 83 patients (46 males, 37 females; median age, 14.0 years) who had undergone surgery via the transventricular approach under a neuroendoscopic view were included in this study. A total of 86 neuroendoscopic procedures were performed in 83 patients. The incidence and duration of postoperative fever (≥38.0 and ≥39.0 °C) over the 7 days after surgery were examined. Moreover, the following variables predictive of fever were investigated: age, sex, neuroendoscopic procedure, operative time, and intraoperative irrigation fluid. The incidence of postoperative fever was 65.1 % (≥38.0 °C) and 15.1 % (≥39.0 °C). The median level of the highest fever was 38.6 °C. The fevers developed immediately after surgery and spontaneously disappeared within four postoperative days. Only age was related to postoperative fever (p = 0.032). The postoperative body temperature was negatively correlated with age in all 86 surgeries (p < 0.001, Spearman r = -0.396). In particular, patients under 10 years of age tended to have postoperative fever (p = 0.005). The result of this study demonstrated a peculiar pattern of fever following neuroendoscopic procedures. This type of fever did not cause serious problems; however, special attention should be paid to the high incidence of postoperative fever in patients under 10 years of age.