Approach to the adult with fever of unknown origin
Approach to the adult with fever of unknown origin = INTRODUCTION Clinicians commonly refer to a febrile illness without an initially obvious etiology (sometimes called fever without localizing signs) as fever of unknown origin (FUO). This usage is not accurate. Most febrile illnesses either resolve before a diagnosis can be made or develop distinguishing characteristics that lead to a diagnosis. FUO refers to a prolonged febrile illness without an established etiology despite intensive evaluation and diagnostic testing. Definition Petersdorf and Beeson defined pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) in 1961 [ 1 ] . It is defined as: A temperature greater than 38.3°C on several occasions. Accompanied by more than three weeks of illness. Failure to reach a diagnosis after one week of inpatient investigation. This timing allowed exclusion of patients with protracted but self-limited viral illnesses, giving time for studies to be completed. This has now been modified ...