Creatine Phosphokinase Measurements in Febrile Children

To the Editor.— The presence of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in high concentration in serum indicates muscle damage from a variety of causes,1.2including anoxia, exercise,³parenteral injections,⁴surgery,⁵trauma, and acute myositis.⁶To our knowledge, there is no published information on the question of whether fever itself causes elevated levels of CPK in serum. Forty-eight febrile children presenting as outpatients were studied for this condition. The CPK level was measured with a kit (CPK Activated UV-System), with normal values being up to 50 units/L. Consecutively appearing children admitted to the casualty ward between March and June 1977 with an axillary temperature greater than 38 °C were studied. In addition to CPK, throat swabs for bacterial culture, pernasal swabs for viral cultures, ESR, hemoglobin level, and WBC and differential cell counts were investigated. The average age of the 39 of the 48 children whose ages were