[The Schnitzler syndrome as a cause of recurrent fever of unknown origin].

History And Clinical Findings: For 4 years a 56-year-old woman had been suffering from chronic urticaria. In the past two years she had developed recurrent fever, each 1-3 days in duration. In the last 6 to 8 months she also had severe aching in the legs.

[Right ventricular thrombi in primary antiphospholipid syndrome].

Over a period of several months a 33-year-old man had recurrent pulmonary emboli. No thromboses could be demonstrated in the peripheral venous system. Transoesophageal echocardiography showed two spherical space-occupying structures in the right ventricle which were removed operatively under the suspected diagnosis of multilobular myxomas.

[Familial Mediterranean fever in a German family].

A 14-year-old German boy had the characteristic signs and symptoms of familial mediterranean fever with recurrent attacks of fever which ran a uniform course and were self-limiting. Laparoscopy revealed sterile peritonitis and marked humoral inflammatory signs. Each acute phase was confined to three days, alternating with symptom-free intervals which lasted for as long as several months.

[What does laparoscopy contribute to explaining fever of unknown origin?].

The diagnostic value of laparoscopy with biopsy under vision was analysed retrospectively in 70 patients with persisting or recurrent fever of at least six weeks' duration which had remained unexplained despite detailed noninvasive studies. In 42 of these patients an intra-abdominal process had been suspected. The cause of fever was directly or indirectly diagnosed by the laparoscopy in 31 patients (44%), 29 of whom had clinical findings or abnormal biochemical results pointing to an involvement of abdominal organs.

[Vegetative hyperthermia: a thermoregulation disorder or a variant from the norm?].

A diagnosis of low-grade idiopathic fever was made in 85 women and 15 men, examined for subfebrile temperature of unknown origin, after organic disease had been excluded. Compared with 100 healthy control subjects these patients had inadequate movement-dependent temperature elevations with a usually pronounced discrepancy between the rectal temperature, predominantly more than 38 degrees C, and a normal or only slightly raised axillary temperature recorded after bodily movement. Other characteristics were that the elevated temperature was uninfluenced by antipyretic drugs.

[Recurrent fever of unknown etiology lasting more than 6 months. Report on 85 patients].

85 patients having recurrent fever of unclarified aetiology of more than 38.5 degrees C for more than 6 months were examined in a prospective study. Of these, 10 had an inflammation due to pathogens, 12 a malignant disease, 15 a collagenous or inflammatory vascular disease, while 9 had various diseases, 5 a familial Mediterranean fever and 18 a "periodic fever".

[Diagnosis of von Willebrand's disease].

31 patients with the diagnosis or presumed diagnosis of von Willebrand's disease were reinvestigated by means of Ristocetin cofactor-activity and factor VIII-associated antigen. In addition a family with a variant of von Willebrand's disease is described. Ristocetin cofactor-activity was found the most reliable test, its value for the diagnosis of mild forms and of variants of von Willebrand's disease is further established by these results.