Endotoxaemia as a cause of fever in immunosuppressed patients.
Using a recently developed chromogenic substrate assay sensitive to 10 pg/ml Escherichia coli endotoxin in plasma, systemic endotoxaemia was found in 52% of 21 episodes of fever in patients with a haematological malignancy who were infected. Endotoxaemia was also found in 27% of 22 episodes of fever of unknown origin. In 45 afebrile patients neither neutropenia nor cytotoxic chemotherapy was a cause of endotoxaemia. Passage of endotoxin from portal blood into the systemic circulation can contribute to unexplained fever in immunosuppressed patients.
D002863:Chromogenic Compounds; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000097:blood*; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D014115:Toxemia / Q000150:complications*
D002863:Chromogenic Compounds; D004731:Endotoxins