Epidural Analgesia and Maternal Fever: Real or Fiction?

Epidural analgesia has been associated with increased maternal temperatures and fevers in laboring women. The mechanism for this fever is unlikely to be of infectious origin. The underlying cause seems to be a combination of altered thermoregulation and inflammation after epidural analgesia. Other risk factors for maternal fever increase the need for epidural analgesia and may explain the strong association between maternal fever and epidural analgesia. Further research is needed to investigate the causes and consequences of fever accompanying epidural analgesia during labor.
Source: Anesthesiology Clinics - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Source Type: research