Drug fever

From IDWiki

Background

  • A drug reaction of unclear mechanism that causes isolated fever

Pathophysiology

  • Stipulated to involve any of five mechanisms:

Etiology

Clinical Manifestations

  • Fever without focus and no other likely causes
  • Can occur at any point in administration of the medication, but most often 7 to 10 days after starting
  • Fever pattern was mostly unpredictable, but could be intermittent or remittent (high but fluctuating); rarely continuous
  • Fever most commonly high, but could be low-grade
  • Usually appear well, even when febrile, including a relative bradycardia
  • Many have rigors, and may occasionally have other systemic signs or symptoms
  • Occasional leukocytosis or eosinophilia

Management

  • Stop offending medication

Further Reading

References

  1. ^  Philip A. Mackowiak. Drug Fever: A Critical Appraisal of Conventional Concepts. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1987;106(5):728. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-106-5-728.
  2. ^  Ruchi A Patel, Jason C Gallagher. Drug Fever. Pharmacotherapy. 2010;30(1):57-69. doi:10.1592/phco.30.1.57.