Fever during rehabilitation in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury: analysis of 392 cases from a national rehabilitation hospital in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the incidence and etiology of fever and the risk factors related to fever in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) at the rehabilitation stage.

DESIGN/SUBJECTS: A retrospective examination of records of 392 consecutive adult patients with traumatic SCI who received inpatient rehabilitation program.

SETTING

A national rehabilitation center in Turkey.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Incidence and etiology of fever, period of hospitalization (days).

RESULTS

A total of 187 patients (47.7%) had fever at least once during their rehabilitation program. The most common etiology was urinary tract infection. The rate of fever occurrence was significantly higher in patients with complete SCI (P = 0.001). In patients with fever, the use of an indwelling catheter was significantly higher compared with clean intermittent catheterization and spontaneous voiding (P = 0.001). The hospitalization period of patients with fever was significantly longer than that of patients without fever (P = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

A high rate of fever was seen in patients with SCI during rehabilitation. Fever was caused by various infections, of which urinary tract infection was the most common. Patients with motor complete injuries and those with permanent catheters constituted higher risk groups. Fever prolonged the length of rehabilitation stay and hindered active participation in the rehabilitation program.