Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the study group.
| Characteristic | n (%) | Median (IQR, Min–Max) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 50 | |
| Gender (male/female) | 28/22 (56%/44%) | |
| Age (years) | 59 (25, 17–85) | |
| Concomitant Diseases/Conditions | 50 (100%) | |
| Malignancies | 8 (16%) | |
| Breast/ AML/H&N/URO/CR/WM | 2/2/1/1/1/1 | |
| Diabetes Mellitus | 7 (14%) | |
| Chronic kidney desease | 7 (14%) | |
| Cardiovascular devices | 6 (12%) | |
| Vascular grafts/Prosthetic valves/CIED | 4/1/1 | |
| Bowel diversions | 4 (8%) | |
| Thyroid diseases | 3 (6%) | |
| Multinodular goiter, Hashimoto thyroiditis | 2/1 | |
| Prosthetic joints | 3 (6%) | |
| Spinal surgery | 2 (4%) | |
| Miscellaneous | 3 (6%) | |
| SLE/AS/Meningioma | 1/1/1 | |
| Duration of fever (days) | 40 (60, 21–365) | |
| Common clinical/radiological findings | ||
| Lymphadenopathy | 16 (32%) | |
| Splenomegaly | 10 (20%) | |
| Elevated blood inflammatory markers (ESR, CRP, PCT) | 31 (62%) | |
| Medications | 17 (34%) | |
| Antibiotics | 13 (26%) | |
| Corticosteroids | 1 (2%) | |
| Chemotherapy (last dose 4 months ago) | 3 (6%) |
n, number of patients; IQR, interquartile range; AML, acute myeloid leukemia; H&N, head and neck cancer; URO, urothelial cancer; CR, colorectal cancer; WM, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia; CIED, cardiac implantable electronic device; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; AS, ankylosing spondylitis; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; PCT, procalcitonin.