Fatal Fever of Unknown Origin in Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Five Cases

Overview

Journal J Spinal Cord Med

Date 2009 Oct 9

PMID 19810636

Citations 10

Authors

Fatma Ulger

Ahmet Dilek

Deniz Karakaya

Alparslan Senel

Binnur Sarihasan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background/objective: Patients with traumatic upper thoracic and cervical spinal cord injuries are at increased risk for the development of autonomic dysfunction, including thermodysregulation. Thermoregulation is identified as an autonomic function, although the exact mechanisms of thermodysregulation have not been completely recognized. Quad fever is a hyperthermic thermoregulatory disorder that occurs in people with acute cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord injuries. First described in 1982, it has not been widely discussed in the literature.

Methods: Case reports of 5 patients with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI).

Results: Five of 18 patients (28%) with acute cervical SCI who were admitted during a 1-year period had fatal complications caused by persistent hyperthermia of unknown origin.

Conclusions: Patients with acute traumatic cervical and upper thoracic SCI are at risk for thermoregulatory dysfunction. Changes in the hypothalamic axis may be implicated, especially in the light of modification in hypothalamic afferent nerves, but this hypothesis has not yet been explored. Thermodysregulation may be an early sign of autonomic dysfunction. A comprehensive guideline is needed for the management of elevated body temperature in critically ill patients with cervical SCI, because this condition may be fatal.

Citing Articles

Quad Fever in a Case of Cervical Cord Injury-A Rare Case Report.

Ali S, Ganesan D, Sundaramoorthy V Asian J Neurosurg. 2022; 17(1):85-87.

PMID: 35873851 PMC: 9298584. DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1748784.

Unraveling quad fever: Severe hyperthermia after traumatic cervical spinal cord injury.

Watson C, Shaikh D, DiGiacomo J, Brown A, Wallace R, Singh S Chin J Traumatol. 2022; 26(1):27-32.

PMID: 35177288 PMC: 9912181. DOI: 10.1016/j.cjtee.2022.01.006.

Quad Fever: Treatment through Lowering of Ambient Temperature.

Krishnan S, Nigam P, Bachh O, Vasudevan M Indian J Crit Care Med. 2018; 22(1):43-45.

PMID: 29422733 PMC: 5793022. DOI: 10.4103/ijccm.IJCCM_295_17.

Non-infectious Fever After Acute Spinal Cord Injury in the Intensive Care Unit.

Ulger F, Pehlivanlar Kucuk M, Ozturk C, Aksoy I, Kucuk A, Murat N J Spinal Cord Med. 2017; 42(3):310-317.

PMID: 29027499 PMC: 6522917. DOI: 10.1080/10790268.2017.1387715.

Expert's comment concerning Grand Rounds case entitled "Pure distraction injury of T1-2 with quad fever" by Jun-Yeong Seo et al. (Eur Spine J [2017]: doi:10.1007/s00586-017-5232-2).

Charles Y Eur Spine J. 2017; 28(5):1051-1052.

PMID: 28821970 DOI: 10.1007/s00586-017-5254-9.

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