Abstract
This is a review of seven patients with pulmonary emboli manifested as high fever (temperature greater than 39 degrees C) seen over a 3 year period by an infectious disease consultant for unexplained fever. The patients' ages ranged from 16 to 81 years. Bed confinement was the underlying condition of all but one patient. Fever resolved with intravenous heparin therapy in three patients and one patient recovered without heparin therapy. Three patients died. Regardless of the degree of fever, pulmonary emboli should be among the list of differential diagnoses in patients with unexplained fever, especially in those who are confined to bed.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Atkins E., Bodel P. Clinical fever: its history, manifestations and pathogenesis. Fed Proc. 1979 Jan;38(1):57–63. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bornstein D. L. Fevers of nosocomial origin. J Med. 1980;11(4):275–292. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dunn L. J., Van Voorhis L. W. Enigmatic fever and pelvic thrombophlebitis. Response to anticoagulants. N Engl J Med. 1967 Feb 2;276(5):265–268. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196702022760505. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- ISRAEL H. L., GOLDSTEIN F. The varied clinical manifestations of pulmonary embolism. Ann Intern Med. 1957 Aug;47(2):202–226. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-47-2-202. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Murray H. W., Ellis G. C., Blumenthal D. S., Sos T. A. Fever and pulmonary thromboembolism. Am J Med. 1979 Aug;67(2):232–235. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(79)90396-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Young E. J., Fainstein V., Musher D. M. Drug-induced fever: cases seen in the evaluation of unexplained fever in a general hospital population. Rev Infect Dis. 1982 Jan-Feb;4(1):69–77. doi: 10.1093/clinids/4.1.69. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]