The distinctive value of temperature pattern in liver cirrhosis and abdominal tuberculosis

We assessed the temperature pattern in liver cirrhosis and abdominal tuberculosis during the first week of admission, before institution of definitive therapy. In 22 patients with liver cirrhosis, 59.19pc had subnormal temperatures and 9.1pc were pyretic. In 19 patients with abdominal tuberculosis, 31.6pc had subnormal temperatures and 36.8pc were pyretic (P less than 0.05). The group mean temperature of the cirrhotic patients lies within the subnormal temperature range while that of patients with abdominal tuberculosis lies within the normal range. This study suggests that patients with liver cirrhosis tend to develop subnormal temperatures much more than those with abdominal tuberculosis while pyrexia was commoner in the latter. The pattern of a carefully recorded and charted temperature can thus be of added distinctive value in situations where liver cirrhosis and abdominal tuberculosis pose diagnostic problems, where definitive diagnosis cannot be readily made or is delayed as a result of inadequate facilities.