Abstract
The course of a patient's elevation in body temperature is not generally thought of as a diagnostic test. Yet it has a number of characteristics that are highly desirable in such a test: It puts the patient to no added expense, it holds no risk and little inconvenience, and the results are immediately available at the bedside. Assessments of its sensitivity and predictive potential are difficult to make. A given pattern is surely not highly specific. Even so, certain fever or fever-pulse patterns in some settings can, at a minimum, suggest a particular microbial agent. Because the first step in determining the optimum strategy for managing an infectious disease is to determine the most likely infecting microorganism, tests that yield such information are especially valuable. In this article we shall describe several types of fever or fever-pulse patterns that can be clinically significant. We shall begin with the two that we ourselves have found most useful and then mention some found useful by others.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 103-110 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Hospital Practice |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 10 A |
| State | Published - 1987 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
The diagnostic value of fever patterns. / McGee, Z. A.; Gorby, Gary L.
In: Hospital Practice, Vol. 22, No. 10 A, 1987, p. 103-110.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The diagnostic value of fever patterns
AU - McGee, Z. A.
AU - Gorby, Gary L.
PY - 1987
Y1 - 1987
N2 - The course of a patient's elevation in body temperature is not generally thought of as a diagnostic test. Yet it has a number of characteristics that are highly desirable in such a test: It puts the patient to no added expense, it holds no risk and little inconvenience, and the results are immediately available at the bedside. Assessments of its sensitivity and predictive potential are difficult to make. A given pattern is surely not highly specific. Even so, certain fever or fever-pulse patterns in some settings can, at a minimum, suggest a particular microbial agent. Because the first step in determining the optimum strategy for managing an infectious disease is to determine the most likely infecting microorganism, tests that yield such information are especially valuable. In this article we shall describe several types of fever or fever-pulse patterns that can be clinically significant. We shall begin with the two that we ourselves have found most useful and then mention some found useful by others.
AB - The course of a patient's elevation in body temperature is not generally thought of as a diagnostic test. Yet it has a number of characteristics that are highly desirable in such a test: It puts the patient to no added expense, it holds no risk and little inconvenience, and the results are immediately available at the bedside. Assessments of its sensitivity and predictive potential are difficult to make. A given pattern is surely not highly specific. Even so, certain fever or fever-pulse patterns in some settings can, at a minimum, suggest a particular microbial agent. Because the first step in determining the optimum strategy for managing an infectious disease is to determine the most likely infecting microorganism, tests that yield such information are especially valuable. In this article we shall describe several types of fever or fever-pulse patterns that can be clinically significant. We shall begin with the two that we ourselves have found most useful and then mention some found useful by others.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0023607581&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
VL - 22
SP - 103
EP - 110
JO - Hospital practice (1995)
JF - Hospital practice (1995)
SN - 2154-8331
IS - 10 A
ER -