Predictive Relevance of Early Temperature Elevation on the Risk of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia Development Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND: Fever in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) has been associated with delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), but its relevance in risk stratification has not been explored. This study investigated whether early temperature elevation following aSAH predicts impending clinical deterioration caused by DCI. METHODS: Relevant cases were identified from a prospectively maintained database for consecutive patients with aSAH treated at our center between July 2015 and January 2020. Temperature readings obtained every 2 hours for individual patients from admission through day 14 were recorded and analyzed. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and angiographic data were extracted from the electronic medical record. The primary end point was the occurrence of DCI (clinical and radiographic vasospasm). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to account for patient age, smoking status, and VASOGRADE classification. RESULTS: The study included 175 patients (124 women) with aSAH. The median age at diagnosis was 55.4 years (range, 20.5-87.2 years). Clinical DCI occurred in 58 patients; 2 (1.1%) responded to hemodynamic augmentation, and 56 (32.0%) required intra-arterial therapy. Temperature graphs showed a marked divergence on day 4 between clinical DCI and non-DCI groups (1.12 degrees C +/- 0.15 degrees C and 0.76 degrees C +/- 0.08 degrees C, respectively, P = 0.007). Patients with temperature elevation >= 2.5 degrees C on day 4 or 5 compared with their admission temperature were more likely to clinically deteriorate owing to DCI (odds ratio 4.55, 95% confidence interval 1.31-15.77, P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Temperature elevation of >= 2.5 degrees C on day 4 or 5 compared with baseline suggests a greater risk of clinical deterioration owing to DCI.