3.
What is fever of unknown origin (FUO)?Fever of unknown origin (FUO) was defined as ‘
fever with a temperature of more 101°F on several occasions, lasting more than 3 weeks, which includes a hospital stay of more than 1 week with a failure to diagnose the cause’ by Petersdorf and Beeson in 1961.
Durack and Street proposed a revised system of classification of FUO. Accordingly, FUO includes:
- Classic FUO
- Nosocomial FUO
- Neutropenic FUO
- FUO associated with HIV infection
The earlier definition corresponds closely to the current definition of classic FUO.
Some of the causes include conditions like lymphoma, tuberculosis, viral infections, hospital – acquired conditions, fungal infections and infections in HIV patients.