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Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) was the most common cause of fever (22/106 [20.8%]). In farm animals, the most likely causes of FUO are infectious or inflammatory diseases such as pneumonia, peritonitis, abscesses, endocarditis, metritis, mastitis, polyarthritis, and pyelonephritis.
- Clinical Challenges
- Differential Diagnosis
- Diagnostic Approach
- Default Diagnosis
- LiteratureReview
- In Summary
When a patient presents with an elevated temperature, it is important to distinguish from the outset whether the increase is due to fever or nonfebrile hyperthermia (see Is It Fever or Hyperthermia?). Most dogs that present with fever have some abnormality on physical examination that helps guide the diagnostic process. Abnormal findings that prese...
Fever often results from an immune or inflammatory response, and most causes of fever can be classified as infectious, immune-mediated, or neoplastic (Table).2,5 Infectious Causes With infectious causes of cryptic fever, many animals have evidence of some abnormality on physical examination or routine laboratory screening. However, even diskospondy...
Initial Diagnostics
The initial diagnostic approach in a dog with unexplained fever should begin with signalment, patient history, physical examination, and laboratory diagnostics (see Diagnosing Fever: A Stepwise Approach). When the diagnosis is not readily apparent following the initial diagnostic approach, the clinician is faced with the option of a therapeutic trial or continued diagnostics.
Therapeutic Trial
The goal of the therapeutic trial should be diagnosis (or, at least, elimination of a disease category); therefore, antibiotics should not be combined with antipyretics, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids. Artificial resolution of fever due to antipyretic administration may improve the patient’s demeanor but is rarely required and tends to delay and confuse the diagnosis. Antibiotic selection is empiric and often based on prior experience or suspicions (e...
Further Diagnostics
Presuming there is no response to the therapeutic trial(s) and no distinctive localized findings to prompt more specific diagnostic tests, the next level of diagnostics should be pursued. These tests, some of which may require referral to specialty practitioners, include: 1. Cytology and blood cultures 2. Serology or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 3. Antinuclear antibody testing 4. Imaging, such as radiography and ultrasound 5. Bone scan 6. Bronchoscopy. Cytology & Other Testing Random cytol...
When the clinician has exhausted the diagnostics or, at least, reached a reasonable confidence level that infectious disease is not present and there is no evidence of neoplasia, the default diagnosis is immune-mediated fever. Corticosteroid trials must be administered appropriately; my protocol is to administer prednisone at 2 mg/kg Q 24 H (or 60 ...
Three large retrospective studies of fever in dogs offer a valuable perspective on the outcome of diagnostic investigations into fever.3,4,14Although the studies were conducted in Europe, where prevalence and type of infectious diseases may differ from those seen in the United States, the general findings are relevant across canine populations.
Uncovering the cause of fever in dogs is usually a straightforward process. For those in which the etiology is not easily uncovered, however, an ordered and logical diagnostic and treatment protocol helps categorize the etiology (ie, infectious, immune-mediated, neoplastic)—even if the ultimate diagnosis is vague (eg, immune-mediated fever). CBC = ...
What causes a fever? A fever is initiated by the presence of a pyrogen (a fever-producing substance). The pyrogen can be produced within the body (endogenous) or from outside the body (exogenous). This pyrogen causes the release of substances from the white blood cells (leukocytes), such as interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor.
In conclusion, as reported in recent studies, non-infectious inflammatory diseases seem to be the major cause of fever in small animals, followed by infectious diseases and neoplasms. A large percentage of cases remain undiagnosed.
In dogs we typically group the causes of fever (or FUO) into the following groups: Infectious diseases ( which includes viral, bacterial, protozoal or fungal) Immune mediated disease
Bacterial or viral disease. A bacterial or viral disease is one of the most common causes of fever in dogs and cats that we see in daily practice.
People also ask
What causes a fever in a veterinary patient?
What is the most common cause of fever in farm animals?
What causes fever in dogs?
What causes cryptic fever in animals?
What causes a fever?
There are many causes of fever. Possibilities include viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal infections. Immune-mediated diseases such as immune-mediated polyarthritis and lupus may include fever as a clinical sign. Various cancer diseases (tumors) and reactions to some drugs may cause fever.
