Table 2

Causes of fever of unknown origin in children

Causes
Infections

  • Generalised infections.

Common causes.

  • Tuberculosis.

  • Salmonella.

  • Cat-scratch disease.

  • Malaria.*

  • Viral infection (EBV, CMV, adenovirus and parvovirus).


Less common causes.

  • Toxoplasmosis.

  • Visceral leishmaniosis.

  • Brucellosis.

  • Leptospirosis.


Other rare causes (tularemia, fungal infections, rickettsioses, etc).

  • Localised infections.

  • Infective endocarditis

  • Intra-adbominal.

  • Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis.

  • Upper respiratory infection (sinusitis, peritonsillar abscess, etc).

  • Urinary tract infection.

Rheumatological diseases

  • Juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

  • Systemic lupus erythematosus.

  • Mixed connective tissue disease.

  • Vasculitis.

Malignancies

  • Leukaemia.

  • Lymphoma.

  • Other less common (sarcoma, hepatoma and neuroblastoma).

Miscellaneous

  • Inflammatory bowel disease.

  • Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

  • Central nervous system dysfunction.

  • Diabetes insipidous.

  • Ectodermal dysplasia.

  • Periodic fevers.

  • Pancreatitis.

  •  Thyrotoxicosis.

  •  Familial dysautonomia.

  •  Factitious fever.

  •  Kikuchi disease.

  •  Sarcoidosis.

  •  Serum sickness.

  •  Drug hypersensitivity.

  • CMV, Cytomegalovirus ; EBV, Epstein-Barr Virus.