title: The adaptive value of fever.
abstract: There is overwhelming evidence in favor of fever being an adaptive host response to infection that has persisted throughout the animal kingdom for hundreds of millions of years. As such, it is probable that the use of antipyretic/anti-inflammatory/analgesic drugs, when they lead to suppression of fever, results in increased morbidity and mortality during most infections; this morbidity and mortality may not be apparent to most health care workers because fever is only one of dozens of host defense responses. Furthermore, most infections are not life-threatening and subtle changes in morbidity are not easily detected.
authors.affiliation: Lovelace Institutes, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kluger
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kozak
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Conn
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Soszynski
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000503:physiopathology; D005334:Fever / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic