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Introduction: Febrile neutropenia is a serious and common complication that can arise in patients diagnosed with hematopoietic cancers or those receiving chemotherapy. Damage to the bone marrow, either drug-induced or due to malignancy, can lead to inefficient production of white blood cells, including neutrophils. Patients with this immunocompromised state are at a greater risk to contracting a life-threatening infection. This study evaluates the prevalence and subsequent clinical outcomes of febrile neutropenia in hospitalized patients diagnosed with cancer. Methods: Hospitalizations for febrile neutropenia/fever and neutropenia (F p<0.001). The overall median hospital charges of a F p<0.001). Conclusion: This study represents the inpatient burden of hospitalizations with a primary admitting diagnosis of febrile neutropenia, specifically in those diagnosed with cancer. Febrile neutropenia cases were seen mostly in patients with hematologic malignancies - more commonly seen amongst adults with NHL or AML and pediatric hospitalizations with ALL. There was a 1% all cause mortality in these hospitalizations, which most likely represented those with significantly. higher severity of illness, longer length of stay, and higher hospital charges. Febrile neutropenia represents a significant healthcare burden in pediatric and adult hospitalizations with cancer.
Makhani et al. (Tue,) studied this question.