BACKGROUND The use of quinolone prophylaxis in high-risk neutropenic patients is considered standard of care but the development of resistance is a concern. Previous studies have focused mainly on quinolone resistance among patients receiving prophylaxis, with very few data reporting its impact on the hospital microbial epidemiology. METHODS We analyzed a cohort of 329 episodes of chemotherap...

Patients receiving chemotherapy frequently develop fever and neutropenia. Haematopoietic growth factors (HGFs) may decrease the duration of such episodes or may prevent a febrile neutropenic episode. In this study we introduce a Markov type economic model for the hospital which calculates all relevant direct costs and savings of HGF therapy and may support decisions on HGF administration. A dis...

Hematologic toxicities of cancer chemotherapy are common and often limit the ability to provide treatment in a timely and dose-intensive manner. These limitations may be of utmost importance in the adjuvant and curative intent settings. Hematologic toxicities may result in febrile neutropenia, infections, fatigue, and bleeding, all of which may lead to additional complications and prolonged hos...

We did a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials studying glycopeptides as part of the initial empirical treatment of febrile neutropenic patients with a beta-lactam and with or without an aminoglycoside. 14 randomised controlled trials that studied 2413 patients were included in the analysis. A better outcome regarding treatment success, without modification of the initial regimen, was a...

Purpose: To compare meropenem, a carbapenem antibiotic, with ceftazidime for the empirical treatment of patients with febrile neutropenia. Patients and Methods: A prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted at medical centers in North America and the Netherlands. A total of 411 cancer patients (196 treated with meropenem and 215 treated with ceftazidime), who had 471 epis...

The efficacies of meropenem, a novel carbapenem, and ceftazidime, as empirical therapy of febrile neutropenic patients, were compared in a prospective, randomized clinical trial. One hundred and twelve adult patients were given meropenem 1 g tds iv for 153 episodes of fever, while 109 patients received ceftazidime 2 g tds iv for 151 episodes. All patients survived the first 3 days of therapy an...

BACKGROUND Safety, tolerability and efficacy of itraconazole and amphotericin B (AMB) were compared for empirical antifungal treatment of febrile neutropenic cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS In an open, randomised study, 162 patients with at least 72 h of antimicrobial treatment received either intravenous followed by oral itraconazole suspension or intravenous AMB for a maximum of 28 da...

Neutrophils play an important role in immunological function. Neutropenic patients are vulnerable to infection, and except fever is present, inflammatory reactions are scarce in many cases. Additionally, because infections can worsen rapidly, early evaluation and treatments are especially important in febrile neutropenic patients. In cases in which febrile neutropenia is anticipated due to anti...

BACKGROUND Procalcitonin (PCT) is an inflammatory marker that has been used as indicator of severe bacterial infection. We evaluated the concentrations of PCT as a marker for systemic infection compared to C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients neutropenic febrile. METHODS 52 adult patients were enrolled in the study. Blood sample was collected in order to determine the serum concentrations of ...

BACKGROUND Abiotrophia and Granulicatella species, previously referred to as nutritionally variant streptococci (NVS), are significant causative agents of endocarditis and bacteraemia. In this study, we reviewed the clinical manifestations of infections due to A. defectiva and Granulicatella species that occurred at our institution between 1998 and 2004. METHODS The analysis included all stra...