Prospective study observes frequent pulmonary-related fevers in post-stroke adults, indicating fevers stem from lung complications rather than vascular brain damage.
We performed a prospective study of the frequency and cause of fever, defined as a rectal temperature of greater than or equal to 101 degrees F detected within the first 5 days, in 104 consecutive adults admitted to a community/teaching hospital because of a nontraumatic stroke. Fever was documented in 23 patients. A source for the fever was identified in 19 patients and was attributed to a pulmonary insult, either aspiration chemical pneumonitis or an infectious pneumonia, in 13 of these patients. Patients who experienced lacunar infarcts did not develop fever. Fever occurring in the wake of a stroke should not be attributed to the vascular process, but should direct attention to inflammatory disorders of the lungs.
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Przelomski et al. (1986) studied this question.
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