Fever Is Not a Constant Finding in Pulmonary Embolism

There has long been uncertainty about whether fever in patients with acute pulmonary embolism is caused by PE or by associated diseases. These authors reviewed . . .

There has long been uncertainty about whether fever in patients with acute pulmonary embolism is caused by PE or by associated diseases. These authors reviewed data from the Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis (PIOPED), which was a study of patients with suspected acute PE who underwent pulmonary angiography. PIOPED has long been viewed as an authoritative source of clinical data on PE diagnosis.

In PIOPED, PE was confirmed in 383 patients, and temperature was recorded in 363 (95%). Fever, defined as a temperature at or above 37.8°C, was present in 95 patients (26%). The chart reviews revealed that a reasonable search for the cause of fever was conducted in all but 6 patients. In 46 of the 95 (48%) patients with fever, …

Reviewing Author

CV Pollack