Podcast #246: Fever in Sepsis

Author: Nick Hatch, M.D.

Educational Pearls

• A recent observational cohort study found that the biggest predictor for sepsis survival was fever. Those with higher fevers had better outcomes.
• Some possible explanations for this finding are that high fevers indicate good immune response or that high fever cued providers to treat sepsis more aggressively.

References: Paul J Young, Rinaldo Bellomo. Fever in Sepsis: is it cool to be hot?. 2014. Critical Care