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. 2020 Nov;92(11):2857-2862.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.26154. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Hyperpyrexia in patients with COVID-19

Kulachanya Suwanwongse  1 , Nehad Shabarek  1
Affiliations

Hyperpyrexia in patients with COVID-19

Kulachanya Suwanwongse et al. J Med Virol. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a global health emergency, in which its effective treatment and prevention remain obscured. Hyperpyrexia is an elevation of body temperature above 106.7°F (41.5°C) due to an abnormally increased hypothalamic-thermoregulatory set. The pathophysiology, impact, and outcomes of hyperpyrexia in patients with COVID-19 have not yet been studied. Herein, we present clinical features and outcomes of six patients with COVID-19 who had developed hyperpyrexia during hospitalization. All patients expired shortly after the onset of hyperpyrexia. Hyperpyrexia seems to adversely impact the outcomes and mortality in patients with COVID-19. The underlying mechanisms of developing hyperpyrexia in COVID-19 are mysterious. We propose it may be caused by SARS-CoV-2-related brain injury, exuberant immune response, and thrombus formation. More research is needed to verify our results. Understanding the association between hyperpyrexia and SARS-CoV-2 will help to elucidate the COVID-19 pathogenesis, which is mandatory for developing effective treatment strategies.

Keywords: COVID; SARS-CoV-2; fever; hyperpyrexia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chest X‐ray of each patient: Case 1—Bilateral perihilar predominant infiltrates. Case 2—Bibasilar alveolar infiltrates. Case 3—Bibasilar alveolar infiltrates, predominately on the left‐sided. Case 4—Multifocal patchy pneumonic infiltration in the bilateral peripheral lung field. Case 5—Bilateral multifocal patchy pneumonic infiltration predominantly on the right. Case 6—Patchy ground‐glass infiltrates throughout the left lung and at the right lung base
Figure 2
Figure 2
The dynamic changes of measured body temperature (°F) of each patient
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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