The full form of AFI in a hospital setting most commonly refers to Acute Febrile Illness.
While "AFI" can stand for several different things in different contexts, in a hospital environment, especially when discussing patient symptoms and diagnoses, it generally denotes a condition characterized by a sudden onset of fever.
Understanding Acute Febrile Illness (AFI)
Acute Febrile Illness (AFI), which is also sometimes referred to as Acute Undifferentiated Fever (AUF), Acute Fever (AF), or Short Febrile Illness (SFI), is generally defined as a fever that subsides on its own within a certain timeframe. This timeframe is typically around three weeks, though some definitions consider it to be a maximum of two weeks.
This definition is useful because it helps doctors classify patients who present with fever but without immediately obvious causes. Investigating the cause of the fever is crucial to determine proper treatment.
