PAEA Surgery End Of Rotation (EOR) Practice Exam

Which drug is indicated as a cause for drug fever post-operatively?

1. Antibiotics

2. Anticoagulants

3. Analgesics

4. Diuretics

The correct answer is: Antibiotics

Drug fever is a fever that occurs as a result of drug administration, typically after the initiation of a new medication. This phenomenon can manifest post-operatively due to various reasons, but certain categories of drugs are more commonly associated with it. Antibiotics, in particular, are known to induce drug fever in some patients. This reaction may be due to hypersensitivity, immune responses, or the effects of the drug on body temperature regulation. Antibiotics can provoke a variety of immune-mediated responses that may result in fever, which is particularly important to consider post-operatively when patients are often on multiple medications, making it vital to identify the potential for drug-induced fever. The timing of fever onset, patient history regarding allergy to specific antibiotics, and the nature of the surgical procedure can all help point towards antibiotics as the cause. Other medications, such as anticoagulants, analgesics, and diuretics, are less commonly linked to drug fever. While these medications can have their own side effects, they are not classically recognized as major contributors to drug fever in the postoperative setting. Therefore, among the options provided, antibiotics are the most frequently implicated drug class in causing drug fever after surgery.