Clinico-aetiological profile of fever of unknown origin (FUO) in children in a single centre

Abstract

Objective: To identify the aetiology of children presenting with fever of unknown origin (FUO). Method: A prospective study of children between 6 months to 18 years admitted for FUO at Employees State Insurance Corporation Medical College and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science and Research, Bangalore, India, from March 2017 to February 2018 were included. All children were subjected to detailed history, clinical examination and baseline investigations. Further investigations were done based on the presumptive diagnosis Results: Of the 3656 children admitted to the paediatric ward for various diseases during the study period, 24 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Children between 12-18 years constituted the majority. Infections were the commonest cause of FUO (70.8%). Among them tuberculosis was the commonest (n=11). Mortality was 8.3% Conclusions: In our study, infections were the cause of FUO in 70.8% and tuberculosis was the commonest infectious cause.