
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Mononucleosis physical examination
Introduction
Overview
Overview
The classic initial presentation of mononucleosis include: fever, lymphadenopathy, pharyngitis, rash and/or periorbital oedema. Occasionally, patients infected with EBV may also display splenomegaly, with subsequent life-threatening complication of splenic rupture and/or hepatomegaly.
Physical Examination
Physical Examination
Active EBV Infection
Vitals
- Bradycardia is a rare and inconsistent finding
Skin
- Maculopapular rash which is generalized, non-itchy, faint and disappears rapidly may be observed during the early phase of the disease.
- Jaundice: varies with the age of presentation. Among young adults with mono ~5% of cases present with jaundice; however, among the elderly age group, ~30% present with anicteric viral hepatitis
- Anemia is uncommon, even though EBV infection induces antibodies to RBC-membranes
Eyes
- Hoagland sign: Transient bilateral supra-orbital oedema that is observed during the early stages of infection.
Ear, Nose and Throat
- Tender lymphadenopathy is present; in particular, the posterior cervical lymph nodes on both sides of the neck are involved.
- Pharyngitis secondary to mono may be either be exudative or non-exudative. Either type of pharyngitis is colonized by group A strep.
- White patches may also observed in the tonsils associated with massive tonsilar enlargement which may lead to fatal airway obstruction.
- Petechial hemorrhages may be observed in the posterior oropharynx; particularly involving the palate.
Abdomen
- Tender splenomegaly is a late-feature. Following recovery from initial illness, spleen returns to normal or near normal size.
- Hepatomegaly
Chronic EBV Infection
- The course of the disease can also be chronic presenting with chronic fatigue syndrome which is a variant of mononucleosis. However, the findings need to be present for months or years to be classified as chronic EBV syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome.
- Physical findings include:
- Significantly lower level of activity in comparison to baseline
- Impaired cognitive dysfunction,
- Tender cervical or axillary lymph nodes
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
