Efficacy and Safety of Micafungin for Febrile Neutropenia in Pediatric Patients With Hematological Malignancies

Abstract

Invasive fungal infections are a major cause of infectious mortality in neutropenic patients receiving chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, little is known about the efficacy and safety of micafungin (MCFG), an echinocandin antifungal agent, in pediatric patients with febrile neutropenia (FN). This study was conducted as a prospective multicenter trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MCFG for FN in pediatric patients with hematological diseases. Efficacy was assessed based on the response to the 5 composite endpoints established by Walsh and colleagues in addition to body temperature and C-reactive protein values. Thirty episodes of FN were enrolled in the study. The median dose and duration of MCFG treatment were 3.0 mg/kg/d and 13.5 days, respectively. Using the criteria of Walsh and colleagues, MCFG was effective in 56.7% of the patients. No breakthrough invasive fungal infection occurred during MCFG treatment. Body temperatures on the last day of neutropenia during administration of MCFG and on the last day of MCFG therapy and C-reactive protein values after administration of MCFG were significantly lower than on the day MCFG therapy was started. Adverse effects in the form of mild liver dysfunction were seen in only 2 patients. MCFG is a very effective and safe antifungal drug for FN in children. Physicians should administer MCFG early in febrile episode in patients in whom first-line antibiotics are not effective in treating FN.