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Diagnostic accuracy of fever as a measure of postoperative pulmonary complications

J Roberts1, W Barnes, M Pennock

  • 1Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Heart & Lung : the Journal of Critical Care
|March 1, 1988
PubMed

Insights

Fever is not a reliable indicator of postoperative pulmonary complications after abdominal surgery. This study found fever

Area of Science:

  • Medical research
  • Pulmonary medicine
  • Surgical outcomes

Background:

  • Pulmonary complications are a concern after abdominal surgery.
  • Fever is often used as a diagnostic indicator for these complications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the diagnostic accuracy of fever in identifying postoperative pulmonary complications.
  • To determine the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of fever.

Main Methods:

  • A study involving 270 patients undergoing elective intra-abdominal surgery.
  • Diagnostic assessments included monitoring for fever and chest x-ray film analysis.
  • Chest x-ray reports were used as the gold standard for identifying pulmonary complications.

Main Results:

  • The prevalence of pulmonary complications was 57%, and fever (≥38°C) occurred in 40% of patients.
  • Fever had a sensitivity below 50% and a specificity of 68%.
  • Fever accurately indicated x-ray evidence of atelectasis in only 56% of cases.

Conclusions:

  • Fever is an unreliable indicator for diagnosing postoperative pulmonary complications.
  • Neither the presence nor absence of fever can confirm or rule out pulmonary issues like atelectasis.

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