Figure 1.

Illustration of temperature pattern abnormalities observed prior to fever in septic patients. The horizontal axes represent hours prior to the first fever in septic patients. The dotted lines denote a fever of 38.3°C. A normal body temperature pattern fluctuates diurnally by approximately 0.5°C around a mean of 37.0°C (A). In septic patients, temperature patterns may exhibit increases in frequency (B), increases in amplitude (C) or changes in baseline temperature (D) during the 72 hours prior to fever.