Signs of infection may accompany venous thromboembolism, including:

• A. Fever, malaise, chills
• B. Hypertension only
• C. Hypothermia only
• D. Polyuria

Answer: (A)

Infection can accompany venous thromboembolism, and systemic signs like fever, malaise, and chills reflect that inflammatory or infectious process. Fever arises when pyrogens trigger the hypothalamus to raise body temperature; malaise is a sense of being unwell from cytokine activity; chills often accompany fever as the body generates heat to reach the new set-point. In obstetric patients, these signs raise suspicion for septic thrombophlebitis or a concurrent infection such as endometritis, wound infection, or catheter-related infection, in addition to the clot. Therefore fever with malaise and chills points to infection rather than being explained by the other options, which are not typical infectious signs in this context.