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Despite an essential differential diagnosis for fever of unknown origin (FUO) in young adults, adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is infrequently considered and remained underdiagnosed in low-middle-income countries. The present study analyzed the clinical, serological, radiological, and pathological characteristics of AOSD presented as FUO in India. A hospital-based retrospective study of patients aged > 13 years admitted with FUO and later diagnosed with AOSD in Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (India), was conducted between January 2014 and December 2020. Petersdorf and Beeson's criteria were used to define FUO. The diagnosis of AOSD was made based on Yamaguchi's criteria. Twenty-seven patients (median age 26 years, 14 females) were enrolled. All presented with intermittent fever with a median duration of 10 weeks. The typical features of AOSD at admission were arthralgia (n = 24), hepatosplenomegaly (n = 21), spiking fever ≥ 39 °C (n = 19), lymphadenopathy (n = 18), typical rash (n = 17), and sore throat (n = 11). Leukocytosis (n = 25) and neutrophilia (n = 19) were frequent. Hyperferritinemia was universal (range, 700-145,003 ng/ml; ≥ 2000, n = 23). At admission, AOSD was suspected in only nine FUO cases, while tuberculosis (n = 16), undifferentiated connective tissue disorder (n = 14), and lymphoproliferative disorder (n = 11) were common diagnostic possibilities. Crispin et al. clinical scale detected AOSD in only 15 (55.5%) FUO patients. Whole-body imaging (n = 27), including fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (n = 12), demonstrated reticuloendothelial organ-system involvement and serositis. Seventeen (63%) patients had macrophage activation syndrome at the time of AOSD diagnosis. AOSD FUO presents with typical but nonspecific features; thus, early differentiation from common causes (e.g., tuberculosis, lymphoma) is difficult. Macrophage activation syndrome is common in AOSD with FUO presentation., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

A stepwise approach is essential to evaluating pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO). When other investigations are negative, bone marrow examination is a valuable diagnostic tool in PUO. It is particularly helpful in patients with involvement of reticuloendothelial organs (e.g. cytopenia, splenomegaly), immunodeficiency states, or older age.

Objectives: Fever of unknown origin (FUO) has different etiology in different age groups. We aimed to determine the spectrum of FUO in older patients and to establish the underlying etiology., Methods: This was a hospital-based prospective observational study conducted between January 2018 to June 2019 at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Fifty-one consecutive patients aged 60 years and above met the qualitative criteria of FUO., Results: The etiological distribution was infections in 21 patients (41.2%), malignancies in 16 (31.4%) and noninfectious inflammatory disorders in 8 (15.7%). Six patients (11.8%) remained undiagnosed. Among infections, 15 patients (29.4%) had tuberculosis, and 10 had an extrapulmonary disease. Twelve out of 16 cases with malignancies had a hematological cause, and eight had lymphoma. ;Regarding decisive methods of diagnosis, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography was diagnostic in 17 out of 27 patients (63%) and computed tomography in 21 out of 42 cases (50%). Imaging or endoscopy-guided procedures provided a diagnostic clue in 12 out of 14 patients (85.7%), and bone marrow examination results were useful in 9 out of 19 (47.4%)., Conclusions: Infections and malignancies contributed to about three-fourths of cases, with tuberculosis and lymphoma being the commonest etiologies., (© Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2011.)

The aetiology of pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) varies dramatically according to epidemiology. We studied the cause and spectrum of PUO in Indian adults. A total of 152 patients (112 prospectively and 40 retrospectively) met Petersdorf and Beeson's criteria. The diagnostic evaluation was guided by potentially diagnostic clues, based on a 'step-wise' approach. The five main categories, i.e. infectious, neoplastic, non-infectious inflammatory, miscellaneous and undiagnosed comprised 43.4%, 21.5%, 19.7%, 2.0% and 12.5%, respectively. The top three causes were tuberculosis (n = 43, 28.3%), lymphoma (n = 19, 12.5%) and adult-onset Still's disease (n = 12, 7.9%). Tuberculosis predominated in all age groups, and about 70% of cases had the extrapulmonary form, the most common being gastrointestinal. Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas were equally distributed, but solid malignancies were uncommon. Adult-onset Still's disease was the second commonest cause in adults aged ≤ 40 years. Fever resolved spontaneously in 12/19 cases of undiagnosed cause. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis remains the most prevalent PUO in India.