[Fever and infection after heart surgery. A prospective study of 75 cases].

We prospectively studied 75 patients who underwent elective cardiac surgery, they were otherwise health and were not using inflammation modifying drugs. Their febrile response and inflammatory conditions after surgery were monitored. Most of them had fever, 52/75 (64%). Postoperative infection was rare (13%) and when present, it was due to pathogens easily treated. Contamination-/infection of genitourinary tract occurred in 10/24 cases (16%), only one case was symptomatic. There was no difference in febrile response between infected and not-infected patients, neither the "routine" laboratory evaluation allowed differentiation, therefore the diagnosis of postoperative infection remains clinical. There is difference in febrile response between patients who had or had not extracorporeal circulation during the surgical procedure. In the later, fever developed 2 days later and it had longer duration.