Early Postoperative Fever in Pediatric Oncology Patients Undergoing Solid Tumor Resection

Postoperative fever is common following cancer resection and often prompts extensive, costly workups. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of and risk factors for postoperative fever in oncology patients, evaluate incidence of true infection, and determine the utility of fever workup.

Single institution retrospective chart review (2018-2023) identified postoperative oncology patients who developed postoperative fever (≥38.0 °C) on postoperative days 0, 1, or 2 following solid tumor resection. Collected variables included preoperative chemotherapy, presence of central line, operation type, bowel resection, operative length, wound class, intraoperative hypothermia (<35 °C), transfusion, hyperglycemia (>180 mg/dL), preoperative neutrophil count, and antibiotic administration. Fever workup included urinalysis, urine culture, blood culture, and chest x-ray. Fever predictors were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model.

Cohort included 222 patients, aged 0.01-40.35 years (median 5.27, SD = 8.32). Ninety-four patients (42 %) developed early postoperative fever. Factors predictive of developing fever included intraoperative transfusion (p = 0.032), postoperative transfusion (p = 0.032), foley catheter (p < 0.001), neutropenia (p = 0.001), and sarcoma histology (p = 0.006). Of those who developed fever, 36 % (34/94) were treated with empiric antibiotics and 73.4 % (69/94) underwent febrile workup (average cost $455). Only 2.8 % (2/94) of febrile patients had an infectious etiology requiring treatment. Both had hemodynamic instability and positive blood cultures.

Postoperative fever is common in pediatric cancer patients. Infectious etiology is rare, empiric treatment is common, and workup is costly. Fever alone may not necessitate a workup within the first 2 postoperative days following solid tumor resection. Testing and treatment should be reserved for those with significant symptomatology.

Retrospective Study.

Level I.