8/18/2019 What is a Fever of Unknown Origin
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What Is a Fever of Unknown Origin?A fever of unknown origin
(FUO) is a fever of at least 101 degreesFahrenheit (38.3 degrees
Celsius) that either lasts for more than threeweeks or ours
fre!uentl" without e#$lanation. %ven though a dotor
annot initiall" determine the ause of the fever& a diagnosis
of FUO is aste$ toward 'nding a ure.
Types of Fever of Unknown Origin here are four lassi'ations
of FUO lassi& nosoomial& immune*de'ient& and
+,-*assoiated.
• Classi FUO aets $reviousl" health" $eo$le. ,t is de'ned as
anune#$lained fever that lasts for three weeks. ,nfetion
orneo$lasms suh as leukemia ma" ause lassi FUO. Otherdisorders&
suh as diseases that aet onnetive tissue& an also/e the
ause.
• eo$le with nosoomial FUO a$$ear to a!uire fever as a result
of hos$italiation. he" are admitted for a reason other than
feverand then /egin to run an une#$lained fever. Common ausesinlude
$ulmonar" em/olism& se$ti
throm/o$hle/itis&enteroolitis& and sinusitis.
• ,mmune*de'ient FUO ours in $eo$le with om$romisedimmune
s"stems. his $uts them at an inreased risk of infetion. his an
our /eause of hemothera$" treatment.
• +,- itself an ause fevers. ,n addition& +,- makes a
$atientsuse$ti/le to infetions that ma" ause fevers.
What Causes a Fever of Unknown Origin?FUO has four $rimar" t"$es
of auses. 2eogniing the t"$e of FUOhel$s a $h"siian determine its
ause. %ah t"$e of ause inludesmulti$le onditions.
• infetions tu/erulosis& mononuleosis& "me disease&
atsrath fever& and others
• in4ammations lu$us& rheumatoid arthritis& in4ammator"
/oweldisease& and others
• malignanies l"m$homa& leukemia& $anreati arinoma&
otheraners& and saromas
• misellaneous fevers that are aused /" drug use or a/use&
arethe result of h"$erth"roidism or he$atitis& or don5t 't into
otherategories.
A $atient with a FUO will /e given a variet" of linial tests to
narrowdown the FUO5s lassi'ation. 6iagnosis of the FUO an /e useful
indrawing attention to an otherwise undiagnosed ondition.
Treatment
reatment for a FUO varies greatl" and de$ends on the
underl"ingause. ,n a/out 30 $erent of ases& the $atient is
disharged without ade'nitive diagnosis. ,n man" suh ases& FUO
resolves itself in time.h"siians agree that the most eetive
treatment for a fever is toaddress its underl"ing ause& suh as
through the administration ofanti/iotis. Also& /eause a fever
hel$s the immune s"stem 'ghtinfetion& it usuall" should /e
allowed to run its ourse. 6rugs to lowerfever (anti$"retis) an /e
given if a $atient ($artiularl" a hild) isunomforta/le.
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