Efficacy of delayed pegfilgrastim administration following consolidation therapy with high-dose cytarabine (HiDAC) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.

Abstract

To study the effects of delaying pegfilgrastim administration following high-dose cytarabine (HiDAC) consolidation in AML patients on time to neutrophil count recovery, infectious complications, and survival. Single-center retrospective chart review of 55 patients receiving pegfilgrastim as early administration (within 72h) or delayed administration (after 72h) of HiDAC. The difference in neutrophil recovery time was similar between the early and delayed groups (18days versus 19days, p < 0.28). Infections were seen in four patients in the early administration group following chemotherapy compared to none in the delayed group (p = 0.04). Febrile neutropenia rates were also decreased in the delayed administration group (23.1% versus 10.3%, p = 0.28) as well as a trend towards longer median survival (16months versus 19months, p = 0.69) and overall survival (21months versus 31months, p = 0.47). A difference in time to neutrophil recovery was not observed between the early and delayed administration groups yet decreased infectious complications may support the delayed administration of pegfilgrastim in these patients.