Clinical and Laboratory Discriminators for Tuberculosis and Lymphoma in Adults Presenting with Fever of Unknown Origin: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background Tuberculosis and lymphoma are the common causes of fever of unknown origin (FUO) and show some similar clinical symptoms. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of tuberculosis and lymphoma to find effective methods to distinguish them. Methods A cohort including 100 tuberculosis and 81 lymphoma patients in FUO was prospectively enrolled. A predictive model of tuberculosis based on clinical parameters was established by using logistic regression equation, and its efficacy was evaluated by Receiving operating curve (ROC). Results Both lymphoma and tuberculosis were more common in middle-aged and elderly males (P=0.043), and the total fever duration was relatively long (P=0.086). Muscle pain (P=0.017) and chills (P=0.045) were more common in tuberculosis patients, while hepatosplenomegaly (P Conclusion The integration of clinical parameters facilitates enhanced discriminative capacity between tuberculosis and lymphoma.