Pediatric Invasive Fungal Risk Score in Cancer and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Patients With Febrile Neutropenia

Background: Invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) are opportunistic infections that result in significant morbidity and mortality in pediatric oncology patients. Predictive risk tools for IFD in pediatric cancer are not available. Methods: We conducted a 7-year retrospective study of pediatric oncology patients with a diagnosis of febrile neutropenia at UCM Comer Children’s Hospitals. Fourteen clinical, laboratory, and treatment-related risk factors for IFD were analyzed. Stepwise variable selection for multiple logistic regression was used to develop a risk prediction model for IFD. Two comparative analyses have been conducted: (i) all suspected IFD cases and (ii) all proven and probable IFD cases. Results: A total of 667 febrile neutropenia episodes were identified in 265 patients. IFD was diagnosed in 62 episodes: 13 proven, 27 probable, and 22 possible. In the final multiple logistic regression models, 5 variables were independently significant for both analyses: fever days, neutropenia days, hypotension, and absolute lymphocyte count
Source: Journal of Pediatric Hematology Oncology - Category: Hematology Tags: Online Articles: Original Articles Source Type: research