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Check previous day for fever patterns,
- spiking fevers indicates abscess.
- continuous fevers or high fevers indicate vascular involvement, such as
infected grafts or septic phlebitis from central iv lines
- chills or rigors indicate bacteraemia. These symptoms are usually not
associated with atelectasis or drug fevers.
- Fevers prior to the operation, alcohol use, allergies and recent WBC
count and differential counts should be assessed.
Adrian P. Ireland