Previously, we discussed how to take patient history clinically. In this blog, we will discover which questions to ask the patient regarding his fever and approach the possible differential diagnosis by revealing more about fever. Perhaps the fever history-taking format should be a chapter in itself, but it is always better to memorize these questions as they are FAQs of medical life.
Always try to make the patient comfortable and don’t hassle or mix up, otherwise, it may become cumbersome for both you and the patient. The history taking for fever in patients goes as follows:
Defining Fever
You don’t even know the definition of Pyrexia and you are up for history taking for fever. You are either doomed or you are not serious really. Have a look below.
Q1- Did you suffer any fever recently?
Answer- Yes/No
It is the basic question for approaching chief complaints of patients. Normal body temperature ranges between 98-99 F. However, pyrexia or fever is defined as a temperature above 99 F, Hypothermia below 95 F, and Hyperpyrexia above 106.7 F.
The thermometer is placed for 2 minutes either below the tongue in the mouth (oral), below the armpits (Axillary), or in the rectum (Rectal). Preciseness order goes as Rectal>Oral>Axillary.
Fever History Proper
Let’s dive into the basics of Fever history and explain a bit about the format. The following questions will cover, just have a look at the basics:
Q2- Was the fever continuous or just for a few hours?
Answer- Continuous/Few hours
Fever is of 3 types:
- Intermittent- for several hours, then touches baseline (i.e, normal temp) sometime during the day.
Causes- See Intermittent fever types in Question 3 - Continuous- No fluctuations greater than 1.5 F and never touches baseline.
Causes- Lobar pneumonia, Rheumatic fever, Miliary Tb, 2nd week of enteric fever, Meningococcal meningitis - Remittent- Fluctuations greater than 3 F and never touches baseline (alternate or continuous).
Causes- Amoebic liver abscess, Urinary tract infection (UTI), 3rd week of Enteric fever, Acute bronchopneumonia, Acute tonsillitis, Bacteraemia, Septicemia, and Pyaemia.
Q3- Does the fever occur daily or on alternate days?
Answer- Daily/Alternate days
Again, it goes as an Intermittent type of fever. 3 types of intermittent fever are:
- Quotidian- Daily
Causes- Double infection of P. vivax, Pent-up pus anywhere in the body, Tuberculosis, UTI, Septicaemia - Tertian- Alternate days
Causes- Benign tertian malaria, Malignant tertian malaria - Quartan- 2 days interval
Causes- P. malaria-quartan malaria (rare in India)
Q4- Is the fever stable (No fluctuations above 1.5 F) or unstable (Fluctuations above 3 F) and sustained?
Answer- Stable/Unstable
Again, it helps in finding if the patient has a Continuous fever type or a Remittent fever type.
Q5- Does the fever falls to normal within 6-12 hours with sweating or it falls to normal gradually over days?
Answer- 6-12 hours/Days
- If fever falls to normal within 6-12 hours, it is called Fall by Crisis.
Causes- Acute lobar pneumonia, Enteric fever with intestinal hemorrhage, Adrenal crisis, Septicemic shock, Dengue, Anti-pyretic drugs - If fever falls gradually over days, it is called Fall by Lysis.
Causes- Uncomplicated enteric fever, Rheumatic fever, Acute bronchopneumonia
Fever Associations
Since we have covered the basics of Fever history, its time we move to the detailed part of the format and discover what can be related to our patient having a fever of unknown origin:
Q6- Is the fever associated with Chills and Rigors?
Answer- Yes/No
Chills are feeling intense cold, while shivering is Rigor.
Causes- Malaria, UTI, Pent-up pus anywhere in the body, Septicemia/Pyaemia, Cholangitis, Sub-acute Bacterial Endocarditis, Thrombophlebitis, Acute pyelitis/Pyelonephritis, Acute lobar pneumonia, Agranulocytosis, Pyogen reaction (fluid/blood transfusion), Filariasis, Jaundice.
Q7- Is the fever associated with sweating?
Answer- Yes/No
Sweating is associated with Hectic Temperature which is Chills and Rigors followed by profuse sweating and then normal temperature.
Causes- Pent-up pus anywhere in the body (lung/liver/sub-diaphragmatic abscess, empyema thoracis, empyema of gall bladder), Septicemia/Pyaemia, Advanced TB (rarely).
Q8- Is the fever associated with cold sores on the lips?
Answer- Yes/No
Cold sores are painful, tender vesicles on the outer surface of lips/Fever blisters on lips.
Causes- Acute lobar pneumonia, Influenza, Malaria, Meningococcal meningitis, Weil’s disease, Mycoplasma pneumonia infection, AIDS, Physiological- sunlight or menstruation.
Q9- Is there the appearance of a Rash anywhere during the fever?
Answer- Yes/No
Causes- Mnemonic- Very Sick Person Must Take Double Tea
- 1st day- Varicella, i.e, Chickenpox
- 2nd day- Scarlet fever
- 3rd day- Pox (Smallpox, not seen these days)
- 4th day- Measles
- 5th day- Typhus
- 6th day- Dengue
- 7th day- Typhoid/Enteric fever
Q10- Is there a history of any recent convulsions?
Answer- Yes/No
Pyrexia or fever is generally normal after convulsions (GTCS) due to excessive body muscle contraction. These are short-lived (less than 5 mins).
Q11- What is the drug/medicine history?
Answer- Yes if any/No
Certain drugs can cause fever, i.e, Pyrexia inducing drugs which are:
Sulfonamides, Phenytoin, Iodides, Bromides, Thiouracils, Barbiturates, Penicillin, Salicylates, Rifampicin, Phenopthalein (used in laxatives), Quinidine.
NOTE: Normal fever generally has Eosinopenia while drug-induced fever shows eosinophilia in the Differential Leucocyte Count (DLC) of blood.