Brain Anuerysm and Fever

My brother Scott, age 49, suffered a ruptured aneurysm on Saturday, March 8. Fortunately, he was at home and his wife was able to call 911. He was rushed to the local hospital emergency room where they stabilized him. He was transferred that same day to Emory University Hospital Neuro ICU. Once at Emory the Neuro Surgeon put a drain in so that the fluid and blood could drain off his brain. On Sunday morning, March 9, a team of Neuro Surgeons performed an arteriogram (spelling?) and were able to put a coil in the aneursym. They stated that the aneurysm was small. He was removed from the ventilator on Monday. He was able to respond to actions that they ask him to do and answer questions with quick recall.

On Wednesday, March 12 he was still very alert, but started running a fever. He has been running a fever ever since that only drops when they give him Tylenol. He also now has a sever Urinary Tract Infection from the cathetor and is on antibiotics. He has been sleeping pretty much non stop since Thursday.

Does anyone know if the sleep and fever are typical for an aneurysm? I am becoming very concerned, as he is not doing as well as he was earlier. Also, they can't seem to lower the drain level because he becomes confused again.

Any advice or previous experience would be greatly appreciated.

A Urinary tract infection will cause a fever and the infection will make him tired ... and sleep is something we all need for our brains to heal from the brain aneurysm...and in his case a rupture.. Your brother is very early in the healing journey...it takes a lot of time patience and rest...Thoughts out to Scott...for continued healing ~ Colleen

Thank you. I have been reading some of the post in this site and I feel so much better after reading what others are going through.

Hi Terri,

No, fever is not considered a typical response/outcome of a brain aneurysm...it is a clear sign that his body is trying to fight off an infection (Urinary tract infections are fairly common outcomes of catheters), and can be hard to manage. I sure hope they're able to get the infection under control soon--before other infections take hold . Have they removed the catheter at this point or?

My best out to you and Scott, sending lots of healing vibes !

Peace, Janet

I saw Scott last night and he is now sleeping constantly. The nurses are having a hard time waking him and getting him to respond to questions. He was so responsive on Saturday and Sunday. I hope the fact that they tried to start weaning him off the drain and discovered that his ventrical was enlarged is the cause for his sleepiness and lack of response. They have now turned his drain back down to zero.

Jim, what was your recovery time? I am just curious, as I know everyone's story is different.

Thanks for the positive words. We need everyone we can get right now.

Thanks for the recent update...on your brother Scott...He has my prayers...~ Colleen

Hi Teri,

I'm so sorry about your brother! I'm 45 and had a ruptured aneurysm this past Jan. I did not have a UTI thank goodness but I know they can cause fever! However, I ran a fever and slept for a week. I had the Pipeline Embolization device placed but did not need a shunt or anything. Sounds like your brother is dealing with several more issues than I did but I ran a fever as well. I think it's pretty common....plus, I still sleep several times a day. From what my neurologist tells me, the brain is very, very slow to heal and doesn't like "interruptions". Sleep is good and expected. I hope he continues to heal!

Sandy, thank you for your reply. This does make me feel better. Luckily his fever has started dipping down. They had to put the drain to 5 today again as too much fluid was coming out, so now we see again how he tolerates it. Therapy came in today and worked with him and had him sitting on the side of the bed. Hopefully things are heading in the right direction.

I hope that you are healing up well.

Hi Terri,

I had a SAH in June of 2013. I myself did develop a fever about a week after the rupture. Doctors had searched for any signs of infection and had found none. It was awful with sweats and chills. I have done some research myself and in fact fever is common after a rupture. The hypothalamus which controls your body temperature can most definetly be traumatized by the bleed. It can also been a sign of vasospasm. Some studies have also said that patients with fever may end up worse off then those without, and that fevers need to be controlled. It very well could also be simply from the bladder infection. Just keep this in mind.

Thank you for your reply. I have also found in my research that fever can occur due to the bleed and I have also read that people who have fever can be worse off.

Scott was definitely more alert before the fever occurred and has been more confused since it occurred, but they have been trying very hard to keep it under control and he does seem to be doing better. He gets his drain out today and hopefully will be moved from ICU tomorrow to a regular room where he will work alot with PT. He then will probably have to go to rehab.

I hope that you are healing and are on the road to a good recovery. Thank you again.

Hi Terri, I also had a fever due to a urinary infection. After the doctors got that infection under control, I developed another fever that required me to be placed on an ice bed for 12 hours. This fever was not due to infection, but was due to an allergic reaction to two medicines - Quetiapine and Metoclopramide. Not sure what these medicines were for, but my fever was extremely high - 105. I also had problems with draining and eventually had to have a permanent shunt installed. Don't give up hope. It sounds like your brother's issues are very similar to what mine were. I was doing great after the clipping and then the fevers caused setbacks. However, once the fevers were brought under control and the shunt was installed, I recovered quickly. I will keep your brother in my prayers. Take care, Monique.

Hi Terri. My mom had a ruptured aneurysm in October 2013. During her time in ICU she ran a fever (in addition to medicine, they even had to put ice packs on her to try and bring it down). So it could be due to the uti or just from some other reason. Some of the best advice we received from the doctors on our very first day in the hospital was this…“recovery is a roller coaster. There WILL be ups and downs. It’s not a matter of if a bump in the road occurs, it’s just a matter of when” They also told us after my moms coiling “I wouldn’t say the worst is over, I would say the worst us yet to come” Oh my how I hated hearing those words. But in hindsight I’m so glad they told us. So that when we hit bumps in the road we could remind ourselves and each other that the doctors told us to expect this. Also I want to mention this. When my mom started recovering medically, she still had a lot of cognitive issues. Lots and lots of agitation and confusion. She was not like her usual sweet self at all. It was so hard and so scary. Everything I read and every nurse and doctor I spoke with told me that this was part of the recovery and that it would get better. Honestly some days I wondered if it really would. But I promise you it did!!! It will get better. He will get better. Just hang in there

Melissa, Scott did finally stop running a fever which was associated with the aneursym itself, and the doctors did finally tell us that fever can be part of the process.

Scott was released to rehab. on Friday, March 28. I saw him on Saturday night and he was much more like his old self again. He does have some cognitive issues and has to rebuild his strength.

Thank you all for your comments and support during this time. It is a miracle that he survived and I thank God every day that he is here with us.