Background
- Mimics sepsis in patients who inject drugs and filter those drugs through cotton balls, particularly associated with heroin
Clinical Manifestations
- Self-resolving fevers, leukocytosis, myalgias, and nausea/vomiting, with negative blood cultures
- Usually within 10 to 30 minutes after injection, and self-limited
Further Reading
- "Cotton fever": A benign febrile syndrome in intravenous drug abusers. J Emerg Med. 1990;8(2):135-139. doi: 10.1016/0736-4679(90)90222-H.
