1340. The Effect of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy on Body Temperature in Patients with and without Infection

Abstract

BackgroundSepsis frequently leads to acute kidney injury. In severe cases, patients may require continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) which involves placement of a dialysis catheter and an extracorporeal blood filtration circuit. CRRT is commonly considered to “mask” fever, though this phenomenon has not been investigated.MethodsWe queried an institutional database of all patients on CRRT from 2007 to 2015 for inpatient temperature data and antibiotic administration records. Receipts of piperacillin–tazobactam, a carbapenem, or a third or fourth-generation cephalosporin, indicating a serious infection, were considered intervention arm. We analyzed temperatures recorded in the intensive care unit before, during, and after CRRT. Patients were divided into groups that did not receive antibiotics as well as those who did. Temperature data were Winsorized to correct for outliers. We also performed descriptive statistics for each group.ResultsThere were 237,988 temperature readings for 1,568 ICU patients on CRRT. 1,153 patients received broad-spectrum antibiotics in ICU. In patients who received antibiotics in ICU and were presumed to have an infection, the mean temperature was 37.2°C prior to initiation of CRRT, 36.8°C while on CRRT, and 37.2°C following discontinuation of CRRT. In the 415 patients who did not receive IV antibiotics, the mean temperature was 36.9°C prior to initiation of CRRT, 36.6°C while on CRRT, and 37.0°C following discontinuation of CRRT. During each of the periods before, during, and after CRRT, patients who received antibiotics had significantly higher temperatures than those who did not (P < 0.001). Patients receiving antibiotics were generally younger (mean 60 years vs. 64 years, P < 0.001), had longer ICU stays (mean 29 days vs. 12 days, P < 0.001) and spent more time being ventilated (mean 23 days vs. 7 days, P < 0.001). The mean SOFA score on day one was similar (mean 11.1 in the antibiotic group and 10.5 in the other group).ConclusionThis investigation suggests that patients have slightly lower temperatures while on CRRT, by on average less than half a degree. A similar effect is seen in both patients with infections as well as those without. Further work will be needed to determine what constitutes a true febrile response in this population.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.