title: The febrile patient: diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic considerations.
abstract: Although clinicians have long pondered the diagnostic and prognostic implications and the treatment of fever, fundamental questions remain unanswered. The value of the height or pattern of a fever in predicting the etiology or course of the illness causing it is a case in point. Whether fever is ever harmful and should, therefore, be suppressed is another. These controversies and others concerning the febrile patient are the subject of this manuscript.
authors.affiliation: Medical Care Clinical Center, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. Philip.Mackowiak@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Mackowiak
mesh_terms: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology; D001831:Body Temperature; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005334:Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D018805:Sepsis / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic