Background
Febrile neutropenia is a life-threatening condition commonly observed in patients with hematological malignancies. Aim: To provide updated knowledge about bloodstream infections in febrile neutropenia episodes within the Andean region in Latin-America.
Method
Retrospective study in six hospitals in Chile, Ecuador, and Peru, of acute leukemia or lymphoma adult patients with febrile neutropenia between January 2019 and December 2020.
Results
Of the 416 febrile neutropenia episodes, 38.7% episodes had a bloodstream infection, 86% of which were caused by gram negative rods, being Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa the most frequently identified bacteria. K. pneumoniae isolates were more frequently resistant than E coli to cefotaxime (65% vs. 39.6%), to piperacillin-tazobactam (56.7% vs. 27.1%), and to imipenem (35% vs. 2.1%), and were more frequently multidrug-resistant (61.7% vs. 12.5%). Among P. aeruginosa, 26.7% were resistant to ceftazidime, to piperacillin-tazobactam, to imipenem, and 23.3% were multidrug resistant. The 30-day mortality was found to be at 19.8%, being higher compared to no bloodstream infection (26.7 vs 15.3%; p = 0.005). Fever duration was also significantly longer, as well as periods of neutropenia and length of hospital stay for patients with bloodstream infection. Additionally, the 30-day mortality rate was higher for episodes with inappropriate vs. appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy (41.2 vs. 26.6%; p = 0.139).
Conclusions
Considering the high rates of bacteria-resistant infection and 30-day mortality, it is imperative to establish strategies that reduce the frequency of bloodstream infections, increasing early identification of patients at higher risks of multidrug bacteria resistance, and updating existing empirical antibiotic recommendations.