Fever After a Colonoscopy: Causes and When to Worry

If you’ve come down with a fever following your colonoscopy, it could indicate an infection caused by or developed during the procedure. However, a fever alone does not mean you have a colonoscopy-related infection.

If you develop a fever after your colonoscopy, it could be coincidental or unrelated to the procedure. To determine whether it is related, you can monitor your symptoms and be aware of what symptoms could point to infection or other complications.

According to VeryWellHealth.com, in addition to fever, symptoms of post-op infection to look out for include:

• Worsened abdominal pain and/or cramps
• Abdominal tenderness
• Chills
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Per the website, gas and some abdominal discomfort are common side effects of a colonoscopy even without infection, and a small amount of bleeding is normal following the removal of a polyp.

Because of this, it is recommended to keep track of the type, severity and duration of your symptoms, especially when it comes to treating or preventing more severe post-colonoscopy infections, such as sepsis or diseases that are transmitted through bodily fluids, which also often cause fevers as a symptom.

If you’re concerned about a fever or possible infection post-colonoscopy, contact your doctor as soon as possible.

Sepsis, for one, can be life-threatening and requires immediate emergency medical attention. Per the CDC, sepsis is the body’s extreme reaction to an infection that does not stop. It is most commonly caused by bacterial infections but can be caused by viral, parasitic or fungal infections as well.

Although the symptoms of sepsis are not always universal, and can present after different lengths of time in different people, Stony Brook Medicine states that common early symptoms include:

• Fever, shivering or a very low body temperature (hypothermia);
• Chills;
• A fast heartbeat (tachycardia);
• Rapid breathing or shortness of breath;
• Confusion or disorientation;
• Dizziness;
• Extreme pain or discomfort;
• Pale, clammy or sweaty skin; and
• Severe weakness or fatigue.

Have you or a family member developed sepsis or a serious infection following a colonoscopy? If so, you should know that lawsuits are being filed alleging that a popular brand of endoscopes have a defect that can put patients at risk for infection. To learn more about your eligibility for a lawsuit, learn more on our Olympus scope lawsuit page or fill out the form on this page to get in touch.

Two other serious diseases that attorneys are also looking into in relation to Olympus scopes are tuberculosis and HIV, both of which also present with a fever, among other symptoms, in their early stages.

HIV.gov reports that approximately two-thirds of patients will present with flu-like symptoms in the first two to four weeks following the initial infection, which is known as the acute infection stage of the disease. Generally, these symptoms may include:

• Fever;
• Chills;
• Rash;
• Night sweats;
• Muscle aches;
• Sore throat;
• Fatigue;
• Swollen lymph nodes; and
• Mouth ulcers.

These symptoms, the site says, can last between a few days and several weeks, and some people remain completely asymptomatic during the acute infection stage.

As for tuberculosis (TB), which is a bacterial infection that can exist in an active (symptomatic) or inactive (asymptomatic) state, the CDC states that common symptoms include:

• Weakness or fatigue;
• Fever;
• Chills;
• No appetite;
• Weight loss; and
• Sweating at night.

Other symptoms of TB depend on the part of the body affected by the infection. Most commonly, TB is found in the lungs, which can cause a bad cough that lasts three or more weeks, chest pain and coughing up blood or phlegm from deep within the lungs. However, TB can also afflict other parts of the body, and the symptoms will vary accordingly.

However, the most common types of infections from colonoscopies, according to a study of 112,543 patients cited by VeryWellHealth.com, are:

• Diverticulitis, an infection of the colon;
• Peritonitis, an infection of the inner wall of the abdomen;
• Appendicitis;
• Osteomyelitis, an infection of the bones;
• Pyogenic liver abscess, a pocket of fluid in the liver; and
• Septic pulmonary embolism, an infection in the lungs.

Before commenting, please review our comment policy.