Fever Profile (Jaundice / Dengue / Malaria)

Malaria, Typhoid, Dengue

Blood sample: This test requires blood as a sample. To take the blood sample, the lab technician will place a tourniquet (elastic) band tightly on the upper arm of the patient. The patient will then be asked to make a fist. It helps in the buildup of blood filling the veins. This way, it becomes easy to collect the blood. The skin is cleaned with an antiseptic solution before inserting the needle in the vein to prevent bacteria from entering and any infection occurring. The needle is then inserted into the arm vein and the blood sample is drawn and collected in the container.

Urine sample: For this test, you have to deposit your urine sample into a cup. It will then be tested in the laboratory by the technicians.

Fever Profile Test Preparation

The fever profile test is a blood/urine test that does not require fasting or any specific preparation. The usual way to collect a blood sample is by drawing it from one of the veins. This is known as venipuncture. This vein is usually the most prominent one in the forearm of a person. This procedure takes more or less 5 minutes. Urine is collected in a sterile container.

Test Inclusions: What parameters are included in the fever profile test?

A number of different parameters are included in this test. Each of them is listed below:

1. Widal Test

The widal test is a method that is used to make a diagnosis of enteric fever, also known as typhoid fever. This test is performed using the slide agglutination method.

2. Malarial Parasite Identification

It is a peripheral smear method (a method in which the blood is viewed under a microscope to check the appearance of the blood cells) to identify the malarial parasite in the patient’s blood.

3. CBC (Complete Blood Count)

CBC is a set of tests that assesses the white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets circulating in the blood. Your general health can be assessed with a CBC.

• Red Blood Cells (RBC) count
• Differential Leucocyte count
• Total Leukocyte count
• Platelet count
• PCV (Packed Cell Volume)
• MCV (Mean Corpuscular Volume)
• MCH (Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin)
• MCHC (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration)
• Neutrophils
• Lymphocytes
• Absolute Leukocyte count
• Eosinophils
• Haemoglobin
• PDW (a measure of how uniformly-sized the platelets in the blood are)

4. Urine Examination

• Specific Gravity
• Nitrite
• Colour
• Casts
• Protein in Urine
• Ph of Urine
• Appearance
• Crystals
• Urobilinogen
• Transparency
• Glucose
• Ketone bodies
• Pus cells
• RBCs
• Epithelial cells

How frequently should you take this test?

This test is called for whenever a person is suffering from persistent fever and a number of other symptoms, the cause of which is unknown.

1. Widal test

If the Widal test range is more than or equal to 1:160 titre for antigen O and antigen H, it indicates that the person has a typhoid infection.

2. Malaria

To quantify malaria parasites against white blood cells (WBCs) in the peripheral smear method, parasites against WBCs are tallied until the count of 500 parasites or 1000 WBCs is reached, whichever comes first. The result is then expressed as parasites per microliter of blood, using the WBC count if known or otherwise assuming 8,000 WBCs per microliter of blood.

3. CBC (Complete Blood Count)

Normal ranges for this test are mentioned in the table below:

4. Urine Examination

• A high neutrophil count in the urine is usually indicative of bacterial infection.
• High lymphocyte count may be due to a viral infection.
• A positive Widal test is confirmatory for Typhoid fever.
• The presence of a malarial parasite on the peripheral smear indicates the patient is suffering from Malaria.
• The results of the urine routine and microscopy are suggestive of whether the fever is due to a urinary tract infection (UTI) or not.

A fever Profile Test is a panel or package or a group of tests done to assess the cause of fever. The reasons for fever can be of a wide variety. Fever is a symptom caused due to many different diseases. Fever can develop due to a person suffering from malaria, typhoid or any bacterial or viral disease.

The fever profile test panel includes a number of different tests such as the Widal test (for Typhoid), CBC (Complete Blood Count), Complete Urine Examination, Malaria test, etc. It is done by testing the person’s blood and urine samples.

This test is prescribed if the person is suffering from symptoms like chronic fever, fatigue, etc. and the cause of these symptoms is unknown. Fever or pyrexia is a process wherein normal body temperature is raised over the conditions of homeostasis or a state of equilibrium in the body. Although many effects of fever on the immune system have been studied for a long time, the causative factors for several infections are not entirely known. Viruses and bacteria are responsible for a wide range of different infectious diseases. Testing for various parameters may bring you one step closer to identifying the source or origin of the disease, as fever or pyrexia of unknown origin remains to be one of the most debated topics in studies of infectious diseases.

In the Indian subcontinent, the epidemiology of various diseases causing fever is a topic of extensive research. The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that India has 15 million malaria cases, with 19,500–20,000 deaths occurring every year.

The overall estimate of the occurrence and prevalence of dengue infection confirmed by laboratory diagnosis based on testing of more than 200,000 clinically suspected patients from 180 Indian studies was 38.3%. In India, about 494 children per 100,000, in the age group of 5 to 15 years, suffer from typhoid. Epidemiological studies claim that there is a huge burden of bacterial and viral diseases prevalent in India.

What does this test measure?

This test is used to detect the cause of infection if the person is suffering from a fever and other infection symptoms.

Some of the conditions are listed below:

1. Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease. The symptoms caused by Malaria include fever, tiredness, vomiting and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma or even death.

2. Dengue

Dengue fever is also a mosquito-borne infectious disease. Symptoms of this infection include high fever, headache, rashes and muscle & joint pain. In severe cases, there can be serious bleeding and shock, which can be life-threatening. It causes platelets and WBC-TLC to decrease in CBC

3. Typhoid

Typhoid is also known as enteric fever. It is a bacterial infection spread by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. Symptoms of typhoid fever include fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. This infection is often passed on or spread due to the consumption of contaminated food and water.

Who is this test prescribed for?

This test is prescribed for people who have a chief complaint of prolonged fever and other symptoms which may point towards a diagnosis of infectious diseases.

It can be prescribed for both adults and children and male as well as female patients.

What is the fastest way to cure a fever?

The following steps should be followed to manage your fever:

• To help lower your body temperature, take paracetamol or ibuprofen in the recommended doses.
• Drink a lot of fluids, especially water.
• Sponge your skin with tepid water.
• Cold baths or showers should be avoided.
• Ensure that you get enough rest, especially bed rest.