Evaluation of Nosocomial Fever

Fever is defined as a body temperature, which exceeds that found in the 99th percentile of healthy individuals: 37.2 degrees Centigrade or 98.9º Fahrenheit at 6a.m. and 37.7º C (99.9º F) at 4 p.m. Fever typically represents an increase of at least 1º to 2ºC from baseline.1 Inflammatory cells may be stimulated by microorganisms, antibody complexes or tissue trauma to release “endogenous ” pyrogenic cytokines which act on the hypothalamic thermoregulatory center altering the set point upward and causing pyrexia. Hyperthermia is distinguished by an increase in body temperature occurring when heat production overcomes heat loss in the setting of a normal thermoregulatory set point. Hyperpyrexia denotes temperatures ove