FACTORS EFFECTIVE IN THE PROGNOSIS OF NEUTROPENIC FEVER IN THE CHILDREN WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA

Background & Aims: Febrile Neutropenia (FN) is one of the common complications of chemotherapy in the children with malignancy. In this study, we investigated the effective factors in response to the treatment of patients with febrile neutropenia. By using these factors, it is possible to have a better analysis about the severity of infection of these patients and it will helpful in choosing the right antibiotic. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who underwent chemotherapy during the last 10 years and were hospitalized due to febrile neutropenia were included in the study. The patients had no known source of infection and fever and all were treated with the same antibiotics. Results: The mean age of the patients was 9.13 ± 3.84 years. The mean hospitalization period of the patients was 10 days, and 9 (7.1%) of the patients were admitted to the ICU. 25 (20.5%) of the hospitalized patients had died. The amount of ESR had a significant effect on the number of days with fever, and with an increase of one ESR unit, the chance of fever continuing for more than 5 days increased by 1.02%. The number of platelets at the time of hospitalization was identified as one of the factors affecting the death of patients, and the odds ratio of death in the patients with a platelet count of ≤50,000 was higher than that of people with a platelet count >50,000. Discussion: Increased CRP and thrombocytopenia at the beginning of hospitalization are among the predictors of bad prognosis in the patients with febrile neutropenia.