Postpartum fever.

Postpartum fever is a common obstetric complication. It often results from endometritis but can also be caused by urinary tract infection, would infection or phlebitis. The rate of endometritis is higher among patients who have a cesarean delivery, compared with those who have a vaginal delivery. Postpartum febrile episodes in which temperatures are less than 38.4 degrees C (101.1 degrees F) often resolve without intervention, especially when they occur in the first 24 hours after delivery. Treatment options for patients whose febrile episodes do not resolve spontaneously or are higher than 38.7 degrees C (101.6 degrees F) during the first 24 hours or higher than 38.0 degrees C (100.4 degrees F) on any two of the first 10 days postpartum include administration of antibiotics with specific activity against anaerobic bacteria. Additional diagnostic modalities, such as computed tomography, ultrasonography, heparin administration and surgical exploration, should be employed when the patient fails to respond to antibiotic therapy.