Infections during non-neutropenic episodes in pediatric cancer patients - results from a prospective study in two major large European cancer centers
- Whereas the clinical approach in pediatric cancer patients with febrile neutropenia is well established, data on non-neutropenic infectious episodes are limited. We therefore prospectively collected over a period of 4 years of data on all infectious complications in children treated for acute lymphoblastic or myeloid leukemia (ALL or AML) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) at two major pediatric cancer centers. Infections were categorized as fever of unknown origin (FUO), and microbiologically or clinically documented infections. A total of 210 patients (median age 6 years; 142 ALL, 23 AML, 38 NHL, 7 leukemia relapse) experienced a total of 776 infectious episodes (571 during neutropenia, 205 without neutropenia). The distribution of FUO, microbiologically and clinically documented infections, did not significantly differ between neutropenic and non-neutropenic episodes. In contrast to neutropenic patients, corticosteroids did not have an impact on the infectious risk in non-neutropenic children. All but one bloodstream infection in non-neutropenic patients were due to Gram-positive pathogens. Three patients died in the context of non-neutropenic infectious episodes (mortality 1.4%). Our results well help to inform clinical practice guidelines in pediatric non-neutropenic cancer patients presenting with fever, in their attempt to safely restrict broad-spectrum antibiotics and improve the quality of life by decreasing hospitalization.
Author: | Stefan Schöning, Anke BarnbrockGND, Konrad BochennekORCiDGND, Kathrin Gordon, Andreas H. GrollORCiD, Thomas LehrnbecherORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-628854 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11070900 |
ISSN: | 2079-6382 |
Parent Title (English): | Antibiotics |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Place of publication: | Basel |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of Publication (online): | 2022/07/05 |
Date of first Publication: | 2022/07/05 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Release Date: | 2022/12/16 |
Tag: | cancer; child; infection; neutropenia; non-neutropenic episode |
Volume: | 11 |
Issue: | 7, art. 900 |
Article Number: | 900 |
Page Number: | 8 |
First Page: | 1 |
Last Page: | 8 |
Note: | This study was supported by the Hilfe für krebskranke Kinder Frankfurt e.V. |
HeBIS-PPN: | 507022556 |
Institutes: | Medizin |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
Sammlungen: | Universitätspublikationen |
Licence (German): | Creative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |