2022 Volume 72 Issue 2 Pages 223-227
We experienced a case of quad fever after spinal cord injury. The patient, a 17-year-old male, had cervical spinal cord injury with cervical dislocation and fracture by sports accident. He developed hyperthermia 14 hours after admission, which continued in spite of using antipyretics and axillary/inguinal ice packs cooling. He had no evidence of infection and other cause of fever. On day 12, temperature exceeded 42℃. Blood, urine and sputum culture were negative. Identifying the cause of hyperthermia was difficult, but extracorporeal cooling pad device （Arctic SunTM） was successfully used to normalize his body temperature. Quad fever is defined as a condition of uncontrollable hyperthermia with no identifiable cause that develops after spinal cord injury. Diagnosis of quad fever was made after excluding infectious or noninfectious causes of fever. The mechanism, pathogenesis and treatment are not well understood. Antipyretics and common cooling procedure are often ineffective and the condition may be fatal. Arctic SunTM might be effective for Quad fever.
