Fever of unknown origin (FUO) revised.
Fever of unknown origin (FUO) was originally characterised in 1961 by Petersdorf and Beeson as a disease condition of temperature exceeding 38.3 °C on at least three occasions over a period of at least three weeks, with no diagnosis made despite one week of inpatient investigation. However, since underlying diseases are often reported for classical FUO, these presentations may not be considered to be of "unknown origin". Rather, the aetiology of prolonged fever may resolve, or not resolve. The definition of fever with unresolved cause (true FUO) is difficult, as it is a moving target, given the constant advancement of imaging and biomarker analysis. Therefore, the prevalence of fever with unresolved cause (FUO) is unknown.In this review, we report such a case of prolonged fever, which initially has presented as classical FUO, and discuss current literature. Furthermore, we will give an outlook, how a prospective study on FUO will allow to solve outstanding issues like the utility of different diagnostic investigations, and the types and prevalence of various underlying diseases.
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine 3, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria. manuel.unger@meduniwien.ac.at.
Manuel
M
Unger
Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Georgios
G
Karanikas
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine 3, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Andreas
A
Kerschbaumer
Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine 1, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Stefan
S
Winkler
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine 3, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Daniel
D
Aletaha
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D063189:Symptom Assessment / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
18FDG-PET/CT; Diagnostics; Fever of unknown origin; Naproxen test; Sarcoidosis
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