Pantoprazole: An Unusual Suspect in a Patient with Fever

Drugs can cause fever of unknown origin. Drug fever is a diagnosis of exclusion and can lead to unnecessary investigations and prolonged hospitalization. Any drug can be responsible. Here, we describe the case of a woman admitted because of acute hepatitis. Pantoprazole was started for stress ulcer prophylaxis when she was admitted to the ICU. Fever developed a few days later and an extensive diagnostic work-up was negative. Fever remitted after pantoprazole discontinuation and the diagnosis of drug fever was established.

Despite extensive diagnostic work-up, the aetiology of acute liver failure remains unclear in a large proportion of cases.Drug fever is a diagnosis of exclusion and must be considered in every patient with unexplained fever; any drug should be seen as a possible offending agent.Pantoprazole, a commonly prescribed drug, can be a rare cause of fever.