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[Infections as causes of fever of unknown origin]

A Schneidewind1, B Ehrenstein, B Salzberger

  • 1Klinik und Poliklinik für Innere Medizin I, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, 93042 Regensburg. bernd.salzberger@klinik.uni-regensburg.de

Der Internist
|May 7, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Infectious diseases are a common cause of fever of unknown origin (FUO). This review details infectious FUO causes, including community-acquired, nosocomial, and immunocompromised infections.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Internal Medicine
  • Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

  • Fever of unknown origin (FUO) presents a diagnostic challenge.
  • Infectious etiologies are a significant contributor to FUO cases.
  • Diagnosis requires careful consideration of individual patient risk factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive overview of infectious causes of FUO.
  • To classify infectious FUO etiologies into distinct categories.
  • To highlight atypical presentations of common infections.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of infectious causes of FUO.
  • Classification based on acquisition: community-acquired, nosocomial, and in immunocompromised hosts.
  • Emphasis on diagnostic approaches for infectious FUO.

Main Results:

  • Infectious diseases represent a broad spectrum of FUO causes.
  • Common examples include tuberculosis and infectious endocarditis.
  • Atypical presentations are frequent in infectious FUO.

Conclusions:

  • Infectious diseases are critical to consider in FUO evaluations.
  • Categorization aids in systematic diagnosis.
  • Understanding risk factors is key to identifying infectious FUO.

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