Obstetric Hyperthermia

Abstract

The contemporary understanding of epidural hyperthermia includes the release of IL-6 and loss of thermoregulation—a noninfectious, systemic inflammatory response to the epidural itself. Of all intrapartum fevers, epidural causes account for approximately 50% of cases. Careful consideration of fever is needed as 30% of intrapartum fevers are due to a confirmed infection (chorioamnionitis) and the remaining 20% have multifactorial etiologies. An intrapartum fever (one measurement of >38 °C or two measurements of >37.5 °C taken 2 h apart) requires extensive workup to rule out other pathologic causes such as infection.