Fever after lung radiofrequency ablation: Prospective evaluation of its incidence and associated factors

Purpose To prospectively investigate the incidence of post-lung radiofrequency (RF) ablation fever as well as its associated factors, according to the grade of fever. Materials and Methods A total of 56 patients who underwent 67 lung RF sessions were analyzed. Post-ablation fever (≥37.0 °C) was graded according to the common toxicity criteria of adverse events v. 4.0. Fever ≥37.0 °C and <38.0 °C was defined as grade 0 fever. The 67 RF sessions were divided into two groups according to the presence of post-ablation fever, and the factors associated with fever were determined using univariate and multivariate analyses. Subsequently, the RF sessions accompanied by post-ablation fever were further divided into two groups according to the grade of fever (grade 0 vs. grade ≥1), and the factors associated with the grade of fever were determined. Results Grade 0, 1, and 2 fever accompanied 36 (54%), 11 (16%), and 2 (3%) sessions, respectively. Post-ablation fever was significantly associated with larger ablated parenchymal volume (P = 0.001) and development of pulmonary infiltration (P = 0.004). Additionally, development of pulmonary infiltration (P = 0.048) was also significantly and independently associated with higher grade of fever in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions The incidences of grade 0, 1, and 2 post-ablation fever were 54%, 16%, and 3%, respectively. Larger ablated parenchymal volume and development of pulmonary infiltration were found to be associated with the development of post-ablation fever, with the latter being an independent factor associated with higher grade of fever.