Differential Diagnosis of Fever Of Unknown Origin Mnemonic

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Here is a quick mnemonic “DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS FEVER“ to remember about Differential Diagnosis of Fever Of Unknown Origin

This can be valuable for patients as well as medical doctors, nurses & students doing their clinical rounds. You can also find it very useful for med exams like USMLE, NEET PG, FMGE, NExT & NCLEX exams

Differential Diagnosis of Fever Of Unknown Origin (FUO) : How To Remember Easily ?

  • D – Differential diagnosis for FUO is extensive.
  • I – Important to remember that FUO is far more often caused by an atypical presentation of a rather common disease than by a very rare disease.
  • F – Fever with signs of endocarditis and negative blood culture results poses a special problem.
  • F – Fever even precedes lymphadenopathy detectable by physical examination in cases of malignant lymphoma.
  • E – Exercise-induced hyperthermia is characterized by an elevated body temperature associated with moderate to strenuous exercise.
  • R – Rheumatica, systemic lupus erythematodus (SLE), and sarcoidosis are rather common diagnoses in patients with FUO.
  • E – Endocarditis, diverticulitis, vertebral osteomyelitis, and extrapulmonary tuberculosis are the more common infectious disease diagnoses.
  • N – None of the miscellaneous causes of fever is found very frequently in patients with FUO.
  • T – Tuberculosis is the most common infectious disease associated with FUO in elderly patients.
  • I – It is important to consider factitious fever artificially induced by the patient, especially in young women in health-care professions.
  • A – Atypical presentations of Q fever and Whipple’s disease should always be kept in mind as a cause of FUO.
  • L – Large-vessel vasculitis and polymyalgia rheumatica are rather common diagnoses in patients with FUO.
  • D – Drug-induced fever, including DRESS, is often accompanied by eosinophilia and lymphadenopathy.
  • I – In patients with unexplained symptoms localized to the central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, or joints, polymerase chain reaction testing for Tropheryma whipplei should be performed.
  • A – Adult-onset Still’s disease, large-vessel vasculitis, polymyalgia rheumatica, systemic lupus erythematodus (SLE), and sarcoidosis are rather common diagnoses in patients with FUO.
  • G – GI tract and joints should be investigated in patients with unexplained symptoms localized to those areas.
  • N – Negatively culture-negative endocarditis may be due to difficult-to-culture bacteria such as HACEK organisms, Coxiella burnetii, T. whipplei, and Bartonella species.
  • O – Overview of possible causes of FUO can be found in Table 20-2.
  • S – Schnitzler syndrome, characterized by urticaria, bone pain, and monoclonal gammopathy, can often be diagnosed in a patient with FUO.
  • I – Immunofluorescence assay (IFA) should be performed for serologic testing of Q fever in patients with FUO.
  • S – Systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome can present with sterile endocarditis.
  • F – Familial Mediterranean fever is an exception among hereditary autoinflammatory syndromes, presenting in specific geographic regions.
  • E – Eosinophilia is often seen in drug-induced fever, including DRESS.
  • V – Vertebral osteomyelitis is a common infectious disease diagnosis in cases of FUO.
  • E – Extensive lymphadenopathy is often associated with drug-induced fever.
  • R – Rheumatica, systemic lupus erythematodus (SLE), and sarcoidosis are rather common diagnoses in patients with FUO.

Mnemonic : DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS FEVER

Dr. Arin Nandi

Passionate About Medical Science & Helping Future Doctors Achieve Top Ranks In Medical Exams. He is professionally a dentist as well as a public health expert from JIPMER (1), (2)working in health department
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