Fever after an Open Ankle Fracture - a Surprising Diagnosis

Abstract

Fever after an Open Ankle Fracture - a Surprising Diagnosis Abstract. We present the case of a patient with a second-degree open dislocated ankle fracture and a complex wound situation as well as fever in the postoperative course. The man, originally from Nigeria, spent his annual holidays in a rural area of ​​the country, where he sustained a right-sided open dislocation fracture of his ankle in a car accident. After initial rudimentary care in Nigeria, the patient traveled back to Switzerland on his own, where he has been living for the past ten years. Back in Zurich he presented himself to our Department for Emergency Medicine. He was admitted to our Trauma Unit and received surgical care. After dismissal, the patient developed a fever of up to 39 °C and returned to our hospital. We initially assumed the reason for the fever to be a wound infection and therefore escalated an already established antibiotic regimen. Only on the second day after admission we tested the patient for malaria as the surgical wounds looked too clean to be the source of the fever. The patient was tested positive for malaria and transferred to the Department of Infectious Diseases for further treatment where he made a full recovery.