Fever
Respiratory System (J00-J99).
- Bronchitis* – inflammation of the bronchial mucosa.
- Pharyngitis* (inflammation of the throat)
- Pneumonia* (pneumonia)
- Sinusitis (sinusitis)
- Tonsillitis* (tonsillitis) or tonsillopharyngitis* (pharyngitis and / or tonsillitis).
- Tracheitis* (inflammation of the trachea)
Blood, blood-forming organs – immune system (D50-D90).
- Congenital immunodeficiencies (see below immunodeficiency/immune deficiency).
- Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH; Engl. Synonyms: hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS), lymphohistiocytic syndrome (LHS), macrophage activation syndrome (MAS, German Makrophagenaktivierungssyndrom) or reactive hemophagocytic syndrome (RHS) – rare, potentially fatal hyperinflammatory syndrome; clinical triad: High fever, hepatosplenomegaly (liver and spleen enlargement), (pan-)cytopenia (pancytopenia: Cell count decrease in all three cell series); less commonly, lymphadenopathy (lymph node enlargement), exanthema (skin rash), and ascites (abdominal fluid) or pleural effusion (water accumulation between the pleura and pleura); lethality: 3-50%; possible triggers are malignancies (especially lymphomas/tumors of lymphoid tissue) as well as infections and autoimmunopathies (autoimmune diseases). Laboratory diagnostics: cytopenia as well as massive and rapidly increasing ferritin values (about three quarters of all patients show ferritin peak values > 10,000 μg/l).
- Sickle cell anemia (med.: Drepanocytosis; also sickle cell anemia, sickle cell anemia) – genetic disease with autosomal recessive inheritance, which affects the erythrocytes (red blood cells); it belongs to the group of hemoglobinopathies (disorders of hemoglobin; formation of an irregular hemoglobin, the so-called sickle cell hemoglobin, HbS).
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (E00-E90).
- Addisonian crisis (acute NNR insufficiency; acute adrenocortical insufficiency).
- Adrenocortical insufficiency (NNR insufficiency; adrenocortical weakness).
- Graves’ disease – form of hyperthyroidism (hyperthyroidism) caused by an autoimmune disease (= immune hyperthyroidism). It is a hyperthyroidism (hyperthyroidism) induced by stimulating autoantibodies against the TSH receptor (TRAK).
Skin and subcutaneous (L00-L99).
- Vasculitides – autoimmune disease affecting the blood vessels.
Cardiovascular system (I00-I99).
- Infective endocarditis (endocarditis of the heart); esp. to be excluded after dental surgery (90% of cases accompanied by fever).
- Myocarditis
- Pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardium) (body temperature > 38 °C is considered to indicate a worse prognosis).
- Postinfarction fever/after a heart attack (25-50% of cases associated with elevated body temperature).
- Postcardiotomy syndrome (synonym: postpericardiotomy syndrome) as a special form of pericarditis; incidence 10-15% after cardiac surgery – symptoms similar to Dressler myocarditis; Dressler syndrome (synonyms: postmyocardial infarction syndrome, postcardiotomy syndrome) – several weeks (1-6 weeks) after a myocardial infarction (heart attack) or an injury to the myocardium (heart muscle) occurring pericarditis (pericarditis) and / or pleurisy (pleurisy) as a late immunological reaction at the pericardium (pericardium) after the formation of myocardial antibodies (HMA)In postcardiotomy syndrome: pericardial effusions (55-90% of patients) and increased inflammation (40-75% of patients); prognosis is favorable.
Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).
- Viral infections
- Chikungunya fever
- Cytomegalovirus
- Dengue fever – infectious disease that occurs mainly in tropical and subtropical regions (Southeast Asia) [Asia].
- Exanthema subitum* (three-day fever).
- Epstein-Barr virus infection (EBV e.g. reactivated by tumor disease).
- Flu infection* (common cold)
- Hand-foot-mouth disease* (HFMK; hand-foot-mouth exanthema) [most common cause: Coxsackie A16 viruses].
- Hepatitis B (liver inflammation).
- Hepatitis C
- HIV / AIDS
- Infectious mononucleosis* (synonyms: Pfeiffeŕsches glandular fever, infectious mononucleosis, mononucleosis infectiosa, monocyte angina or kissing disease, (Student́s) kissing disease, called) – common viral disease caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV); this affects lymph nodes, but can also affect the liver, spleen and heart.
- Influenza (flu)
- Measles (Morbilli)
- Pseudocroup* / croup cough – laryngitis, which leads mainly to swelling of the mucous membrane below the vocal cords.
- Ringworm* (erythema infectiosum) – parvovirus B19
- Rubella
- Viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), e.g. dengue fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.
- Chickenpox* (varicella)
- Yersiniosis, chronic – disease caused by bacteria of the genus Yersinia.
- Bacterial infections
- Abscess fever
- Bartonella henselae (cat scratch disease).
- Lyme disease (Lyme disease) – infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.
- Brucellosis (Malta fever) – infectious disease transmitted from animals to humans.
- Erysipeloid (pig erysipelas) – is an erythematous skin disease caused by the causative agent of pig erysipelas (Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae).
- Leptospirosis (Weil’s disease)
- Listeriosis – in humans sporadic infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Listeria.
- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); farmers are colonized with a high prevalence (> 5%).
- Anthrax
- Ornithosis (synonyms: psittacosis; parrot disease).
- Paratyphoid infection – infectious disease caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica paratyphi (type A-C) of the family Enterobacteriaceae [Asia].
- Parotitis epidemica (mumps)
- Pasteurella multocida
- Pseudomembranous enterocolitis (Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea = CDI); often 1 to 4 weeks after antibiotic therapy.
- Pneumococcal infection (in infants up to two years of age).
- Q fever – a zoonotic disease (animal disease) spread worldwide with the exception of New Zealand and Antarctica.
- Rabies (rabies)
- Relapsing fever (Engl. relapsing fever, spirillium fever) – bacterial infectious diseases caused by relapsing fever borrelia, which are characterized by multiple episodes of fever, so-called recurrent fever.
- Syphilis (lues; venereal disease).
- Tularemia (rabbit plague)
- Typhoid abdominalis – severe febrile infectious diseases, which are usually associated with diarrhea and caused by salmonella (Salmonella enteritica serovar typhi) [Asia].
- Tuberculosis
- Mycoses (fungal infections)
- Actinomycosis
- Aspergillosis
- Blastomycosis
- Candidiasis
- Histoplasmosis
- Coccidiomycosis
- Cryptococcosis
- Mucor
- Pneumocystis jirovecii
- Parasitic infections
- Amoebic dysentery (tropical intestinal infection).
- Babesiosis – infectious disease caused by babesia (small intracellular parasites transmitted by tick bite):ticks of the family Ixodidae: in Europe, infections are dominated by Babesia divergens, in the United States by Babesia microti and or Babesia duncani; pathogens infect erythrocytes (red blood cells) and cause a malaria-like disease.
- Chinese liver fluke
- Echinococcus (dog tapeworm, fox tapeworm).
- Entamoeba histolytica
- Spotted fever – also called “lice fever” or faecal fever; infection with microorganisms of the genus Rickettsia (Rickettsia prowazekii) transmitted by lice, mites, ticks or fleas.
- Giardiasis* – small intestine infection caused by Giardia lamblia (Giardia duodenalis, Giardia intestinalis, Lamblia intestinalis).
- Gnathostomiasis (pathogen: Gnathostoma spinigerum or Gnathostoma hispidum).
- Katayama fever (referred to as acute schistosomiasis / bilharzia) – worm disease (tropical infectious disease) caused by trematodes (sucking worms) of the genus Schistosoma (couch flukes).
- Leishmaniasis
- Lung fluke
- Malaria – tropical infectious disease transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito [Africa].
- Protozoonosis (a disease transmitted by protozoa), e.g. leishmaniasis, cryptosporidiosis.
- Rickettsioses (rickettsiae; transmitted by ticks, mites or mite larvae, and by lice or fleas) [Africa].
- Schistosomiasis
- Strongyloidiasis
- Toxocara canis (canine roundworm)
- Trichinosis (synonym: trichinellosis; causative agent: trichinae).
- Toxoplasmosis
- Infections with different types of pathogens
- Gastroenteritis* (gastrointestinal flu) (in children up to 5 years old in about 40% of cases by rotaviruses).
- Sepsis; most common sites of infection in community-acquired sepsis are:
- Lower respiratory tract (e.g., pneumonia/pneumonia, pleural empyema/accumulation of pus (empyema) within the pleura, that is, between the two pleural leaves)
- Gastrointestinal tract (e.g., intra-abdominal abscess, cholangitis/bile duct inflammation, diverticulitis/disease of the large intestine in which inflammation forms in protrusions of the mucosa (diverticula))
- Genitourinary tract (eg, pyelonephritis/renal pelvic inflammation with obstruction).
Mouth, esophagus (esophagus), stomach, and intestines (K00-K67; K90-K93).
- Abdominal abscess (encapsulated collection of pus in the abdominal cavity) – e.g., perforated appendicitis (ruptured appendix) or diverticulitis (abscess caused by rupture of the intestine based on inflammation of mucosal protrusions/diverticula)
- Appendicitis* (appendicitis).
- Chronic inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis).
- Diverticulitis – disease of the colon in which inflammation forms in protrusions of the mucosa (diverticula).
- Whipple’s disease – chronic infectious disease caused by actinomycete (group of bacteria) Tropheryma whippelii (gram-positive rod bacterium), affecting the small intestine. In addition to the intestinal system, other organ systems may also be affected (multisystem disease).
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).
- Collagenoses (group of connective tissue diseases caused by autoimmune processes): systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), polymyositis (PM) or dermatomyositis (DM), Sjögren’s syndrome (Sj), scleroderma (SSc), and Sharp syndrome (“mixed connective tissue disease”, MCTD).
- Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) – chronic inflammatory disease of the spine that can lead to joint stiffness (ankylosis) of the affected joints. The sacroiliac joints (ISG; sacroiliac joints) are typically affected first
- Necrotizing fasciitis (lat. Fasciitis necroticans) – foudroyant proceeding, bacterial soft tissue infection of the skin and subcutis, in which the fascia is also affected, by Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS, group A streptococci); usually after (minor) trauma [creatine kinase ↑]
- Osteomyelitis (bone marrow inflammation).
- Rheumatic diseases (eg, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever).
- Vasculitides (autoimmune disease affecting blood vessels: e.g., periarteritis nodosa; Kawasaki disease (synonyms: Kawasaki syndrome, mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, MCLS) – acute, febrile, systemic disease characterized by necrotizing vasculitis (vascular inflammation) of small and medium-sized arteries.
Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).
- Tumor diseases (below are details of tumors most commonly associated with fever):
- Acute leukemias (blood cancers).
- Bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer)
- Colon carcinoma (colon cancer)
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)
- Lymphoma (Hodgkin, non-Hodgkin)
- Hypernephroma (renal cell carcinoma).
- Leukemias
- Breast carcinoma (inflammatory; inflammatory breast cancer).
- Hodgkin’s disease – malignant neoplasia (malignant neoplasm) of the lymphatic system with possible involvement of other organs; is counted among the malignant lymphomas.
- Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) – group of heterogeneous (inconsistent) diseases of the bone marrow (stem cell diseases) represent.
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Plasmocytoma (multiple myeloma) – malignant (malignant) systemic disease that is one of the non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas of B lymphocytes.
- Pleural mesothelioma (pleural cancer) – > 90% of cases associated with exposure to asbestos.
- Liver metastases or hepatocellular carcinoma (hepatocellular carcinoma).
- Ovarian carcinoma (ovarian cancer).
Ears – mastoid process (H60-H95)
- Otitis media* (inflammation of the middle ear); acute otitis media (annually more than 20% of all children aged 3-6 years).
Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99).
- Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
- Meningitis* (meningitis); in infants/toddlers more often caused by pneumococci, much less often by meningococci.
Symptoms and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99).
- Thirst (thirst fever)
- Fever of travelers returning
- Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).
Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – reproductive organs) (N00-N99).
- Urinary tract infection (UTI)*
- Pyelonephritis (inflammation of the renal pelvis)
Injuries, poisonings, and certain other sequelae of external causes (S00-T98).
- Exercise-induced hyperthermia
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI, cerebral fever).
- Burn (resorptive fever).
Medication
- Drug fever (synonym: drug fever) – mainly caused by hypersensitivity syndromes; fever occurs in this case relatively shortly after the first drug intake and subsides within 72 hours after discontinuation of the drug; examples:
- Analgesics
- Antibiotics
- Aminoglycoside antibiotics (streptomycin).
- Antibiotic from the group of polymyxins (colistin).
- Cephalosporins
- Glycopeptide antibiotics (vancomycin)
- Penicillins
- Sulfonamides
- Antiepileptic drugs (barbiturates and phenytoin).
- Antihistamines (H1 and H2 blockers).
- Antihypertensives (dihydralazine, methyldopa).
- Antipsychotics (depressant psychotropic drugs).
- Barbiturates
- Biologics (infliximab, filgrastim, etc.)
- Diuretics
- Hormones
- Thyroid hormones (L-thyroxine),
- Neuroleptics
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (including salicylates).
- Sedatives
- Centrally acting drugs (e.g., halothane, succinylcholine).
Operations
- First postoperative week:
- Resorptive fever (“aseptic fever”) – due to the breakdown of destroyed tissue components after surgery.
- Surgical complication
- Catheter sepsis/thrombophlebitis
- Nosocomial infection (hospital-acquired infection)
- Thromboembolism – occlusion of a blood vessel by a detached blood clot.
- Gout attack
Environmental pollution – intoxications (poisoning).
- Climate-related heat stress (eg, desert climate).
Other causes
- Abscess (somewhere)
- Asplenia – absence of the spleen; congenital or acquired by splenectomy (removal of the spleen).
- Blood transfusions, vaccinations* (toxic fever).
- Heat accumulation (heat fever)
Hyperthermia
Hyperthermia – increased temperature without adjustment of the set point in the heat regulation center in the hypothalamus (part of the diencephalon) such as in:
- Damage to the central nervous system
- Disturbance of the body’s thermoregulation (e.g., insufficient fluid intake with consequent decreased sweating in elderly patients)
- Drug abuse
- Sports in midsummer → stress-induced hyperthermia.
- Heat stroke
- Medications such as antidepressants (anti-depressant medications) (for more medications, see “Heat stroke and sunstroke/pathogenesis – etiology” below).
Malignant hyperthermia
- Trigger substances are:
- Vaporizers containing inhalation anesthetics (sevoflurane, isoflurane).
- Depolarizing muscle relaxants (succinylcholine).
- Other pharmaceuticals used in anesthesia (nitrous oxide, opioids, sleep aids, benzodiazepines, nondepolarizing muscle relaxants).
- Caffeine
- Drug use
- Cresols (also hydroxytoluenes or methylphenols).
- Ryanodine – causes calcium efflux from the sarcoplasmic reticulum; intoxication results in persistent muscle contractions.
Legend
- Bold (= persistent fever, i.e. > 3 weeks); marked were diseases that occur frequently to occasionally.
- * Fever in children; marked were diseases that occur frequently to occasionally.
- [typical travel destinations] were marked with square brackets