Postoperative Fever: To What Is the Body Really Responding?

ABSTRACTTHE PRESENCE OF A POSTOPERATIVE FEVER is not always indicative of an infectious process. Mild temperature elevation may be transient in nature and may arise from the body's response to tissue injury. Fevers that present from two to more than seven days after a surgical procedure may be caused by other physiological responses.PERIOPERATIVE NURSES can target nursing assessments according to the postoperative day on which the fever presents. AORN J 86 (December 2007) 983–988. © AORN, Inc, 2007.