Amebic Hepatitis Presenting as Fever of Unknown Origin

Abstract

THE protean nature of amebiasis has been amply discussed,^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7} and because of increased alertness to the various clinical syndromes that it may produce, the frequency of its diagnosis has increased during the past ten years.^{8 9 10} Thorough analyses by Klatskin,³ DeBakey and Ochsner,⁴ Sodeman^{5 , 6} and others have clearly outlined the clinical features of amebic dysentery, hepatitis, involvement of other organs and the "asymptomatic carrier state." Amebic hepatitis, however, presenting as obscure fever has been insufficiently described. In uncomplicated intestinal amebiasis, fever is relatively rare; Browne and his co-workers¹¹ cited the presence of low-grade fever in only 6.5 per cent of 790 . . .