Fever of unknown origin natural history, complications and prognosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Synonyms and keywords: febris continua e causa ignota; febris e causa ignota; febris E.C.I.; FUO; PUO; pyrexia of unknown origin

Overview

fever of unknown origin has different etiologies it is therefore important to mention that course, complication and prognosis of disease depends on the underlying etiology. In case of old aged patients or patients with malignancy prognosis is poor.

Natural History, Complications and Prognosis

The course and prognosis of disease dependent on the underlying cause of FUO.^[1]^[2]
If the cause is found earlier and treatment is directed towards it prognosis is usually good
In patients with neutropenic and HIV related FUO the disease can cause many complication due to their immunocompromised state
Prognosis is poor in case of old age patients or when malignancy is the cause of FUO
In more than 50 % cases cause is unknown despite extensive investigation in such cases prognosis is good.

References

↑ Wright WF, Auwaerter PG (2020). “Fever and Fever of Unknown Origin: Review, Recent Advances, and Lingering Dogma”. Open Forum Infect Dis. 7 (5): ofaa132. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa132. PMC 7237822 Check |pmc= value (help). PMID 32462043 Check |pmid= value (help).
↑ Mulders-Manders C, Simon A, Bleeker-Rovers C (2015). “Fever of unknown origin”. Clin Med (Lond). 15 (3): 280–4. doi:10.7861/clinmedicine.15-3-280. PMC 4953114. PMID 26031980.

[pmid32462043-1] Wright WF, Auwaerter PG (2020). “Fever and Fever of Unknown Origin: Review, Recent Advances, and Lingering Dogma”. Open Forum Infect Dis. 7 (5): ofaa132. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa132. PMC 7237822 Check |pmc= value (help). PMID 32462043 Check |pmid= value (help).

[pmid26031980-2] Mulders-Manders C, Simon A, Bleeker-Rovers C (2015). “Fever of unknown origin”. Clin Med (Lond). 15 (3): 280–4. doi:10.7861/clinmedicine.15-3-280. PMC 4953114. PMID 26031980.

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