EASILY MISSED? Febrile neutropenia

Suspect febrile neutropenia in patients receiving chemotherapy who develop a fever of 38°C or higher or appear systemically unwell Remember to ask patients with a recent diagnosis of cancer if they are receiving chemotherapy as they may not always offer this information In all cases of suspected feb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ (British Medical Journal) 2011-01, Vol.342 (7788), p.103-104
Main Authors: Naik, Jay D, Sathiyaseelan, Suren R K, Vasudev, Naveen S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotics
Blood counts
Bone marrow
Chemotherapy
Disease risk
Fever
Fevers
Health outcomes
Infections
Life threatening
Neutropenia
PRACTICE
Primary health care
Side effects
Symptoms
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Summary:Suspect febrile neutropenia in patients receiving chemotherapy who develop a fever of 38°C or higher or appear systemically unwell Remember to ask patients with a recent diagnosis of cancer if they are receiving chemotherapy as they may not always offer this information In all cases of suspected febrile neutropenia, refer the patient to hospital (ideally to their treating team) for an urgent full blood count, assessment, and consideration of immediate antibiotic treatment. Do not wait for results of a full blood count test sent from the surgery, as patients may decompensate rapidly
ISSN:0959-8138
0959-535X
1756-1833
DOI:10.1136/bmj.c6981