Managing febrile neutropenia in the UK in 2020

Background Neutropenic sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency in paediatric haematology and oncology patients. It is a complication of myelosuppressive therapy used to treat children with cancer. Improvement in supportive care in oncology has seen the mortality from febrile neutropenia (FN) fall from 40% to 1%–3% in the last 50 years,1 with the risk of FN in children being reported as low as 0.4%–1%.2 However, many children will still undergo frequent and long inpatient admissions to the hospital, due to fever and neutropenia, while remaining clinically well with no identifiable source of infection. This new guidance draws on evidence from the Predicting Infectious Complications in Children with Cancer collaboration (PICNICC+) collaboration between UK, Australian and Swiss groups to propose a risk-stratified approach to managing these patients and ultimately reducing the time spent in the hospital.3 4 Clinicians and families may find...
Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood - Education and Practice - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Guideline review Source Type: research