Evaluation of fever in the returned traveler.
The primary care practitioner often is the first clinician sought out by a returning traveler, and it is important that he or she be alert to the possibility of exotic illness while remembering the more mundane causes of fever. Malaria remains one of the most serious diagnoses in a febrile traveler and should be looked for repeatedly. Other diagnoses may be suggested by exposure history and patterns of laboratory findings. A directed diagnostic workup, rational empiric therapy, and appropriate consultation are the tools with which the primary care provider successfully can manage the challenging dilemma posed by the returning traveler with fever.
McLellan
Susan L F
SL
Infectious Diseases Section, School of Medicine, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. smclell@tulane.edu
D000818:Animals; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D003715:Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005334:Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D014195:Travel; D014352:Trypanosomiasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000175:diagnosis