Family Practice Vol. 9, No. 4, 425-432
© Oxford University Press 1992
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Fever in General Practice II. Reasons for Encounter, Management and Duration of Fever Conditions
* University of Oslo, Department of General Practice Frederik Stangsgt, 11/13 N-0264 Oslo
** Medstat Research PO Box 37, N-2011 Strømmen
*** University of Oslo, Department of Pharmacotherapeutics PO Box 1065 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
To whom correspondence should be addressed at the University of Oslo, Department of Pharmacotherapeutics, PO Box 1065 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
A sample of 80 direct and 36 telephone encounters for fever was established in 1988 as part of a Norwegian study on fever as a clinical problem in general practice. Reasons for encounter (ICPC) and clinical examinations were recorded along with clinical laboratory tests, treatment, management and follow up (IC-Process-PC). The doctors assessed the diagnostic process by means of visual analogue scale. Duration of the fever conditions was estimated through a postal questionnaire. Patients with direct encounters presented a wide range of reasons for the encounters. Fever was the most frequent single presenting complaint (31%). The general practitioners put major emphasis on the clinical examinations. They prescribed drugs in 68% of the direct encounters. Seventy per cent of the prescriptions were general systemic anti-infectives. Penicillin accounted for 58% of antibiotics. Six (8%) patients were hospitalized, and three (4%) were referred to a specialist. The mean time until complete recovery was 15 days for direct and 19 days for telephone encounters. Fever may be a sign even when it is not a presenting complaint. Major emphasis is probably put on the clinical examination of febrile patients because of the complexity of symptoms and the wide range of diagnoses associated with fever.