Febrile neutropenia is the development of fever, often with other signs of infection, in a patient with neutropenia, an abnormally low number of neutrophil granulocytes (a type of white blood cell) in the blood. The term neutropenic sepsis is also applied, although it tends to be reserved for patients who are less well. Fever is actually caused by infection in 50% of cases, and bacteremia (bacteria in the bloodstream) may be present in as many as...
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Febrile neutropenia is the development of fever, often with other signs of infection, in a patient with neutropenia, an abnormally low number of neutrophil granulocytes (a type of white blood cell) in the blood. The term neutropenic sepsis is also applied, although it tends to be reserved for patients who are less well. Fever is actually caused by infection in 50% of cases, and bacteremia (bacteria in the bloodstream) may be present in as many as 20% of all patients with an absolute neutrophil count under 1.0.
Febrile neutropenia can develop in any form of neutropenia, but is most generally recognized as a complication of chemotherapy when this is myelosuppressive (suppresses the bone marrow from producing blood cells). Generally, patients with febrile neutropenia are treated with empirical antibiotics until the neutrophil count has recovered and the fever has abated; if the neutrophil count does not improve, treatment may need to continue for two weeks or occasionally more....
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