What Is Acute Chest Syndrome?
Reviewed: Dr. Gromatzky
5. Fever
Acute chest syndrome is often associated with pneumonia, which itself is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection. The immune system reacts to this to help defeat the intruders and one way this is achieved is to heat up the body. Pathogens struggle to survive when they are too hot, so a fever can be an effective way of beating them.
This means that patients with acute chest syndrome will often have a fever as a symptom, and chills are also likely. Many patients with acute chest syndrome will also have a cough. These symptoms should encourage any person with sickle cell disease to speak with a doctor.
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