With ~20-30% mortality rate, febrile neutropenia (FN) is a potentially life-threatening condition that may develop in cancer patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. It leads to reduction or delay in subsequent chemotherapy doses, which have serious implications on the treatment efficacy. European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has published clinical practice guidelines for management of febrile neutropenia.
Most standard-dose chemotherapy (ChT) regimens are associated with 6-8 days of neutropaenia, and FN is observed in ∼8 cases per 1000 patients receiving cancer ChT. Currently, the different ChT regimens are classified as producing a high risk (>20%), an intermediate risk (10%-20%) or a low risk (<10%) of FN. Generally, patients with febrile neutropenia are treated with empirical antibiotics until the absolute neutrophil count is greater than 500/mm 3 and the fever has…
