Essays on Neutropenic

1. A fever of unknown origin (FUO) in a patient with leukemia leads itself to a wide range of differential diagnoses. Traditionally FUO is divided into four categories: classic, nosocomial, neutropenic, and HIV-associated. Classic FUO can be a result of infections, malignancy, or collagen vascular disease. Nosocomial FUO is most likely due to C. difficle infections, pulmonary embolism, or an infected catheter. Neutropenic FUO can be caused by opportunistic bacterial or fungal infection. Lastly, HIV FUO can be due to M. avium-intracellulare complex or P. carinii. Most likely because of the patient’s WBC count and history of leukemia, ...

Infection in cancer patient with febrile neutropenia: epidemiology, microbiology and management

Abstract Febrile neutropenia (FN) is characterised by a decrease in neutrophils number to values below 500 cells/ mm3 and an occurrence of fever higher or similar to 38.3ºC. It commonly occurs in cancer patients as a result of chemotherapy regimens. Chemotherapy destroys carcinogenic cells but also attacks in many cases some normal cells including essential elements of the immune system. Fever is one of the characteristic symptoms of FN and is usually associated with the presence of an infection caused by various microorganisms. Bacteria, including Gram-positive isolates (currently dominating) and Gram-negative species (dominant in the 1970s), are usually ...