What Does FUO Mean in Medical Terms?

FUO stands for fever of unknown origin. Persistent fever without a found cause.

Where you will see FUO

You will most often see FUO in medical charts and clinical notes, microbiology results and infection-control notes.

Example

A chart note might use “FUO” as shorthand for fever of unknown origin when documenting a patient's care.

Related abbreviations

• 14-3-3 — 14-3-3 protein (CSF)
• 3 Cs measles — three Cs of measles (cough coryza conjunctivitis)
• A&O x4 — alert and oriented times four (person place time situation)
• a.m. — ante meridiem (morning)
• A/P — assessment and plan
• ABSSSI — acute bacterial skin and skin structure infection
• ABx — antibiotics
• AC — anterior chamber (eye)

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