Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the incidence and aetiology of fever of unknown origin in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, and to evaluate the usefulness of the main diagnostic procedures.
Design: A retrospective study.
Setting and subjects: We reviewed the records of 270 HIV-infected patients who were hospitalized for the first time in a department of infectious and tropical diseases during the 27 month study period.
Main outcome measures: Fifty-seven patients (21%) had a history of fever of unknown origin.
Results: The aetiology was found in 49 cases (86%). The major cause of the fever was mycobacteriosis: atypical mycobacteria in 10 cases, Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 10, mycobacteria of unspecified type in two, and BCG strain in one. A liver biopsy and a thoracic CT scan greatly contributed to the diagnosis of mycobacterial infection. Seventeen patients were given empiric antimycobacterial therapy as a therapeutic test, of whom seven had a favourable response. The other main causes of fever were cytomegalovirus infection in five patients, leishmaniasis in four, and lymphoma in four.
Conclusions: Fever of unknown origin is a frequent occurrence in the course of HIV infection, and mycobacterial infection should be considered as a first-line diagnosis in such cases. The place of empiric antimycobacterial therapy in the diagnostic strategy requires further evaluation, but appears to be an alternative to multiple investigative procedures.