Infectious complications and infection prevention in patients with acute leukemia
Teshima, H.; Kanakura, Y.; Ishihara, K.; Soma, T.; Hirayama, F.; Kubota, Y.; Kojima, K.; Ueda, T.; Tsubakio, T.; Nakamura, H.
Gan no Rinsho. Japan Journal of Cancer Clinics 31(9 Suppl): 1211-1217
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-4949 PMID: 3863970 Document Number: 259510
Febrile episodes in 147 patients undergoing first remission induction therapy for acute leukemia were analyzed. Febrile episodes occurred 254 times in 136 patients. The cause of fever could not be identified in 54.3% of all episodes. Antibiotic therapy was effective in 81.1% of these episodes with no cause determined. Postmortem examinations proved infections in 65.2% of patients who had fever of unknown origin before death. Sepsis and pneumonia together accounted for 53.4% of documented infections. Sepsis and pneumonia occurred most often when the patients had neutropenia (less than 500/mm3). Increase in neutrophil count and achievement of hematologic remission produced good prognosis of the infections, and the reverse was also true in some patients. Fifty percent of fetal patients died of infection. The incidence of infections, especially pneumonia and infections caused by fungi and Proteus species indicating such infections were exogenous, reduced markedly in laminar air flow rooms.