FEVER OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF 107 CLINICAL CASES / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

To investigate causes and clinical picture of fever of unknown origin (FUO), and to sum up the experiences in diagnosis of FUO, the medical records of 107 patients with FUO were reviewed retrospectively. Specific causes were identified in 99. 1% of these patients, including infections in 50 patients(46. 7%) , rheumatic problems in 22(20. 6%) and malignancies in 17(15. 9%). The main pathogens responsible for the infections were pyogenic bacteria(72. 0% , 36/50) and M tuberculosis (18. 0% , 9/50), mostly extrapulmonary. Lymphatic and he-mopoietic tissue neoplasms were the main forms of malignancy (88. 2%, 15/17), including histiocytosis, malignant lymphoma and leukemia. Drug fever was another common cause of FUO, accounting for 8. 4% in our series.