fever

From Aaushi
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Introduction

Fever is an abnormal elevation of body temperature due to a change in the hypothalamic thermoregulatory center located in the anterior hypothalamus. This change is largely mediated by release of endogenous pyrogen(s) by circulating monocytes & tissue macrophages (IL-6 may be the most important endogenous pyrogen). This in turn results in production of hypothalamic prostaglandins, especially PGE2. Heat production & heat loss are thus balanced to maintain a higher body temperature. The definition of fever is arbitrary; some definitions are:

- 38.1 C[12]

(Also see fever in the elderly)

Hyperthermia without fever may result from failure to adequately dissipate body heat (e.g., a hot environment), or drugs (e.g., malignant hyperthermia). True fever may arise from numerous sources including infection, inflammation, infarction or trauma, neoplasms, or metabolic disorders.

Etiology

(some causes may not represent true fever)

Pathology

History

Clinical manifestations

(associated signs/symptoms)

Laboratory

Radiology

Management

More general terms

More specific terms

Additional terms

References

  1. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 13th ed. Companion Handbook, Isselbacher et al (eds), McGraw-Hill Inc. NY, 1995, pg 2, 830
  2. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 13th ed., Isselbacher et al (eds), McGraw-Hill Inc. NY, 1995, pg 81-89
  3. O'Grady NP et al Practice parameters for evaluating new fever in critically ill adult patients. Task Force of the American College of Critical Care Medicine of the Society of Critical Care Medicine in collaboration with the Infectious Disease Society of America. Crit Care Med 26:392-408, 1998 PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9468180
  4. Saunders Manual of Medical Practice, Rakel (ed), WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1996, pg 842-844
  5. Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 14, American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 2006
  6. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th ed. Fauci et al (eds), McGraw-Hill Inc. NY, 1998, pg 84-88
  7. 7.0 7.1 Journal Watch 24(14):114, 2004 Perrott DA, Piira T, Goodenough B, Champion GD. Efficacy and safety of acetaminophen vs ibuprofen for treating children's pain or fever: a meta-analysis. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004 Jun;158(6):521-6. Review. PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15184213
  8. 8.0 8.1 Sarrell EM et al, Antipyretic treatment in young children with fever: Acetaminophen. ibuprofen, or both alternating in a randomized, double-blind study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006, 160:197 PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16461878
  9. 9.0 9.1 Prescriber's Letter 13(4): 2006 What Should I Do When My Child Has a Fever Detail-Document#: http://prescribersletter.com/(5bhgn1a4ni4cyp2tvybwfh55)/pl/ArticleDD.aspx?li=1&st=1&cs=&s=PRL&pt=3&fpt=25&dd=220409&pb=PRL (subscription needed) http://www.prescribersletter.com
  10. Prescriber's Letter 14(10): 2007 Fever Patient Handout Detail-Document#: http://prescribersletter.com/(5bhgn1a4ni4cyp2tvybwfh55)/pl/ArticleDD.aspx?li=1&st=1&cs=&s=PRL&pt=3&fpt=25&dd=231006&pb=PRL (subscription needed) http://www.prescribersletter.com
  11. 11.0 11.1 Hay AD et al. Paracetamol plus ibuprofen for the treatment of fever in children (PITCH): Randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2008 Sep 2; 337:a1302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a1302 PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18765450
  12. 12.0 12.1 NEJM Knowledge+