Fever in the intensive care unit

Perhaps nowhere is fever more common and more problematic than in the intensive care unit (ICU). Patients with fever in this setting often have dysfunction of one or more organ systems, have several underlying comorbidities, and are subjected to multiple invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. A thorough knowledge of both infectious and noninfectious conditions that are common in the ICU is essential for the clinician caring for the critically ill patient. This article provides an overview of the common causes of fever encountered in the ICU setting and provides guidelines for the evaluation of the febrile ICU patient.