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Antibiotic prophylaxis in neutropenic children with acute leukemia: Do the presently available data really support this practice?
Author(s) -
Calitri Carmelina,
Ruberto Eliana,
Castagnola Elio
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1600-0609
pISSN - 0902-4441
DOI - 10.1111/ejh.13162
Subject(s) - medicine , antibiotics , neutropenia , intensive care medicine , antibiotic prophylaxis , febrile neutropenia , acute leukemia , placebo , pediatrics , leukemia , chemotherapy , alternative medicine , pathology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Antibiotics are frequently administered for prophylaxis of fever in neutropenic children with cancer. This strategy is mainly derived from adults’ data, and various pediatric studies evidenced the effectiveness of antibiotics (eg, fluoroquinolones) in the prevention of febrile neutropenia. However, only two pediatric randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials have been performed, with a total of 262 leukemic children enrolled, and no other one was ever powered for analyzing effectiveness over other infectious complications. In an era of increasing antibiotic resistance, the widespread use of antibiotic prophylaxis in neutropenic leukemic children needs to be strongly supported.