Identification of Risk Factors Associated with Microbiologically Diagnosed Infections, and Mortality in the Cases of Pediatric Febrile Neutropenia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: To identify the risk factors associated with microbiologically diagnosed infections (MDI), and mortality in the cases of pediatric febrile neutropenia

Study design: A cross-sectional study

Place and Duration: This study was conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad, Pakistan from June 2020 to June 2021.

Methodology: The current study involved 414 episodes of febrile neutropenia in 264 children, who were less than 12 years of age, and predictive high-risk factors were assessed. The study included children who had experienced febrile neutropenia after getting the chemotherapeutic treatment in the hospital. Exclusion criteria included children who were going through stem cell therapy, were receiving palliative care, and the patients who had febrile neutropenia when they were diagnosed with cancer.

Results: The current study identified that MDIs were present in 82 children out of which 14.2% had bacterial infections, and 4.3% had fungal. The complications were present in 109 children out of which 43 died; 35 children died due to bacterial sepsis whereas 8 died because of fungal sepsis.

Conclusion: In the children having febrile neutropenia, the concentration of C - reactive protein more than 90 mg/dL, platelet concentration less than 20000/uL, and albumin concentration less than 2.5 g/dL were considered as high-risk factors for mortality, complications, and prolonged hospital stays.