Fever in the elderly
Fever in the elderly
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DOI：
10.1086/313896
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发表时间：
2000-07-01
影响因子：
11.8
通讯作者：
Norman, DC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Norman, DC
老年人的感染，类似于这个年龄组的其他急性疾病，可能以非典型、非经典的方式出现。发热是感染的主要症状，但在20%-30%的时间内可能不存在或减弱。发热反应的缺失或减弱可能反过来导致该人群的诊断延迟，这已经存在因感染而增加发病率和死亡率的风险。另一方面，老年患者的发热比年轻患者的发热更可能与严重的病毒或细菌感染有关。最后，可以在大多数情况下作出诊断不明原因的发热（FUO）的老年人。FUO通常与该年龄组的可治疗疾病相关。
Infections in the elderly, similar to other acute illnesses in this age group, may present in atypical, nonclassical fashions. Fever, the cardinal sign of infection, may be absent or blunted 20%-30% of the time. An absent or blunted fever response may in turn contribute to diagnostic delays in this population, which is already at risk for increased morbidity and mortality due to infection. On the other hand, the presence of a fever in the geriatric patient is more likely to be associated with a serious viral or bacterial infection than is fever in a younger patient. Finally, a diagnosis can be made in the majority of cases of fever of unknown origin (FUO) in the elderly. FUO is often associated with treatable conditions in this age group.