Revised definition of 'fever of unknown origin': limitations and opportunities.

AIM: The limitations and opportunities of revised definition of fevers of unknown origin (FUO) in comparison to conventional definition were investigated, and prehospital characteristics of the patients were detailed.

METHOD: The patients were grouped according to both revised and classic definitions of FUO.

RESULTS: Fifty-nine of the 80 patients (74%) met the conventional definition of FUO. Before their admissions, all patients had at least one course of antibiotic therapy. The aetiology was infectious in 52%, autoimmune in 19%, and neoplastic in 17%. In 12% of the cases, the reason for high fever could not be explained. The most common infectious aetiologies were various forms of tuberculosis (12%), brucellosis (12%), salmonella (7%) and malaria (5%). The revised definition inflated the rate of infectious aetiology.

CONCLUSION: A standardized set of diagnostic tools used in this study was suggested. The subjects of FUO series have to be screened for endemic infections.