Back to Search
Start Over
The changing pattern of fever of unknown origin in the Republic of North Macedonia
- Source :
- Romanian Journal of Internal Medicine, Vol 57, Iss 3, Pp 248-253 (2019)
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Sciendo, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Introduction. The study aimed to compare the etiologic spectrum of diseases causing fever of unknown origin (FUO) and methods for definitive diagnosis in a tertiary care hospital in the Republic of North Macedonia during two different time periods. Patients and methods. There were analysed retrospectively the causes for FUO and final diagnostic approaches in 185 patients with classic FUO that were treated at the University Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Skopje during two time periods. Seventy nine patients were treated during 1991 to 1995 and 106 patients during 2011 to 2015. Results. When comparing these two periods, infections were present in 46.8% and 29.2% (p = 0.014), non-infective inflammatory disorders in 22.8% and 25.5% (p = 0.674), neoplasms in 10.1% and 13.2% (p = 0.522), miscellaneous in 8.9% and 12.3% (p = 0.461) and undiagnosed cases in 11.4% and 19.8% (p = 0.124), respectively. The most common causes for FUO during the first period were abscesses (8.9%), tuberculosis and systemic lupus erythematosus (7.6% each), whereas in the second period the commonest causes were adult onset Still disease and solid organ neoplasm (7.6% each), polymyalgia rheumatica, abscesses and visceral leishmaniasis (5.7% each). The newer imaging techniques and clinical course evaluation had superior diagnostic significance during the second period. Conclusion. A changing pattern of diseases causing FUO during the examined periods was evident. Infections continue to be the most common cause but with decreasing incidence when compared to 20 years ago. Even nowadays clinical evaluation and follow-up still remain the vital diagnostic tools in determining the etiology of FUO.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Tuberculosis
Adolescent
diagnosis
Infections
Fever of Unknown Origin
Polymyalgia rheumatica
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
Internal medicine
Neoplasms
Medicine
Humans
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic
030212 general & internal medicine
Fever of unknown origin
adult onset still disease
Aged
Retrospective Studies
030203 arthritis & rheumatology
Aged, 80 and over
Inflammation
fever
business.industry
Incidence (epidemiology)
Middle Aged
medicine.disease
Republic of North Macedonia
RC31-1245
Rheumatology
infection
Visceral leishmaniasis
Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Etiology
Female
Seventy Nine
business
Still's Disease, Adult-Onset
neoplasm
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Volume :
- 57
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Romanian Journal of Internal Medicine
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....8df535af5ae553147797babbdb19a387