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The following is a summary of “Current Microbiological Testing Approaches and Documented Infections at Febrile Neutropenia Onset in Patients with Hematological Malignancies,” published in the July 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Chumbita et al.
Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a severe complication of cancer treatment, characterized by fever and a low neutrophil count, significantly increasing the risk of severe infections.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study evaluating diverse microbiological approaches for diagnosing infections among patients with hematologic malignancy (HM) and FN.
They analyzed individuals at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, detailing microbiological testing strategies for diagnosing infections (January 2020 to July 2022) when FN began.
The results showed that 4,520 microbiological tests were performed across 462 episodes of FN, with a 10% positivity rate and 200 (43.3%) episodes having microbiological evidence of infection. The most common tests were blood cultures (40.4%), non-culture blood tests (21.2%), and respiratory tract samples (16.2%). Blood cultures had the highest positivity rate at 16.9%, while non-culture blood tests had the lowest at 3.3%. Bacterial infections were found in 149 out of 462 (32.3%) episodes of FN, and viral infections, particularly respiratory viruses, occurred in 66 (14.3%) episodes. The 60-day mortality rate was 9.1%, with documented diseases linked to a 15% increased risk.
Investigators concluded that microbiologically confirmed infections predominate at fever onset, underscoring the importance of viral etiologies and the need for improved diagnostic strategies to optimize antimicrobial use.
Source: ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(24)00254-6/fulltext
