Defining fever: likelihood of infection diagnosis as a function of body temperature in the emergency department

Fever predicts an infection cause of SIRS/sepsis more specifically than other commonly used hemodynamic criteria. Traditionally, a body temperature of 38.0°C has been used to define fever, but this cutoff is based on limited research. Furthermore, it has been proposed that fever responses are blunted in older adults, limiting the utility of fever in infection. This study determines the likelihood that a body temperature will predict diagnosis of infection in the emergency department (ED).