Febrile neutropenia
Fever in a patient whose infection-fighting white cells have been wiped out by chemotherapy. It is a medical emergency: without immune cells, an ordinary infection can become fatal in hours, so antibiotics are started immediately.
Defined as temperature ≥38.3°C (or ≥38.0°C sustained) with neutrophils <0.5 × 10⁹/L, it occurs in 10-20% of patients on many regimens (higher with docetaxel-based, dose-dense and induction chemotherapy), carries 5-10% mortality and is a leading cause of unplanned admission. Management is empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics within an hour, risk-scored (MASCC) to allow oral outpatient treatment for low-risk cases. Prevention with G-CSF (filgrastim, pegfilgrastim) is recommended when a regimen's risk exceeds 20%, and febrile neutropenia is a standard dose-limiting toxicity and reason for dose reduction.
Pages like this
not linked directly; found by shared links- TermThrombocytopenia
- TermCTCAE toxicity grading (grade 3-4 adverse events)
Shares Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), Dose reduction, interruption and discontinuation.
- TermDose-dense and metronomic chemotherapy
Shares Neutropenia, Growth factors: G-CSF and febrile neutropenia prevention.
- TermMaximum tolerated dose (MTD)
Shares Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), Dose reduction, interruption and discontinuation.
- TermTherapeutic index (therapeutic window)
Shares Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), Dose reduction, interruption and discontinuation.
- TermProject Optimus
Shares Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), Dose reduction, interruption and discontinuation.
- CancerMyelodysplastic syndromes / neoplasms (MDS)
Shares Cytopenias and myelosuppression, Growth factors: G-CSF and febrile neutropenia prevention.