Table 1.
Clinical and biological findings of the FUO, EFUO and IUO groups.
| FUO n = 35 |
IUO n = 35 |
EFUO n = 33 |
Total n = 103 |
p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | n (%) or mean (SD) | ||||
| Sex: Male/Female | 20/15 | 18/17 | 15/18 | 53/50 | 0.6285 |
| Age (years) | 59.3 (16.7) | 65.1 (13.6) | 49.8 (16.6) | 58.2 (16.7) | 0.0005 |
| Duration of symptoms (months) | 7.7 (18.0) | 9.4 (12.9) | 34.5 (55.9) | 16.8 (35.8) | <0.0001 |
| Maximum fever (°C) | 39.5 (0.7) | 38.5 (0.3) | 39.6 (0.6) | 39.4 (0.7) | 0.0002 |
| Duration of fever (weeks) | 24.1 (12.1) | 4.4 (1.2) | 67.2 (31.3) | 39.9 (14.3) | 0.0309 |
| Arthralgia (%) | 15 (42.8) | 22 (62.8) | 14 (42.4) | 51 (49.5) | 0.1513 |
| Sweating (%) | 20 (57.1) | 8 (22.9) | 19 (59.4) | 47 (46.1) | 0.0030 |
| Chills (%) | 19 (54.3) | 4 (11.4) | 23 (71.9) | 46 (45.1) | <0.0001 |
| Myalgia (%) | 17 (48.6) | 9 (25.7) | 9 (27.3) | 35 (34.0) | 0.0801 |
| Cutaneous signs (%) | 13 (37.1) | 2 (5.7) | 10 (30.3) | 25 (24.3) | 0.0056 |
| Headaches (%) | 8 (22.9) | 7 (20.0) | 7 (21.2) | 22 (21.4) | 0.9581 |
| Arthritis (%) | 7 (20.6) | 5 (14.3) | 4 (12.1) | 16 (15.7) | 0.6106 |
| Transit disorders (%) | 2 (5.9) | 2 (5.7) | 10 (30.3) | 14 (13.7) | 0.0035 |
| Heart murmur (%) | 4 (11.8) | 9 (25.7) | 0 (0.0) | 13 (12.7) | 0.0063 |
| Lymph nodes (%) | 5 (14.3) | 2 (5.7) | 4 (12.1) | 11 (10.7) | 0.4834 |
| Hepatomegaly (%) | 4 (11.8) | 1 (2.9) | 1 (3.0) | 6 (5.9) | 0.2110 |
| Abdominal pain (%) | 1 (2.9) | 1 (2.9) | 1 (3.0) | 3 (2.9) | 0.9988 |
| White blood cells | 9.2 (4.3) | 9.2 (3.2) | 9.5 (3.9) | 9.3 (3.8) | 0.2779 |
| Haemoglobin | 11.4 (1.5) | 11.1 (1.8) | 11.8 (2.2) | 11.4 (1.8) | 0.0741 |
| Platelets | 347.1 (191.8) | 394.7 (177.2) | 306.6 (117.5) | 350.7 (168.8) | 0.0329 * |
| ESR | 74.3 (34.5) | 87.6 (35.0) | 58.6 (35.2) | 73.7 (36.4) | 0.0097 * |
| CRP | 111.4 (81.2) | 90.6 (54.5) | 61.2 (64.3) | 88.8 (70.2) | 0.0201 # |
| AST | 33.1 (3.8) | 22.7 (1.7) | 29.0 (3.4) | 28.3 (18.2) | 0.0327 # |
| ALT | 37.9 (24.6) | 20.5 (12.7) | 30.7 (19.5) | 29.8 (20.8) | 0.0020 # |
| LDH | 446.6 (258.1) | 320.1 (139.5) | 374.3 (156.3) | 382.0 (199.0) | 0.0253 + |
| Albuminemia | 32.0 (6.6) | 31.6 (5.4) | 35.3 (5.7) | 32.9 (6.1) | 0.0346 ** 0.0193 * |
ALT: Alanine transaminase; AST: Aspartate transaminase; CRP: C-reactive protein; EFUO: episodic FUO; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; FUO: fever of unknown origin; IUO: inflammation of unknown origin; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase. Significant difference: * between EFUO and IUO groups; ** between FUO and EFUO groups; + between FUO and IUO groups; # between each group.