Fever in general practice. II. Reasons for encounter, management and duration of fever conditions.

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.