Incidence of Febrile Neutropenia in Neutropenic Cancer Patients Admitted to Oncology Ward of Shahid Ghazi Tabatabai Hospital in Tabriz, Iran, During 2018 - 2020

Abstract

Background: Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is one of the risk factors for infection in patients undergoing chemotherapy (due to the weakened immune system). Febrile neutropenia (FN) may be the sole indicator of an underlying infection in these patients.
 Objectives: Since infection is associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients undergoing chemotherapy, the present study aimed to assess the incidence of FN in neutropenic cancer patients admitted to an oncology ward.
 Methods: This retrospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted on 52 patients (selected using the census method) with signs of infection (i.e., FN) hospitalized in Ghazi Tabatabai Hospital in Tabriz, Iran, within 2018 - 2020. The data were collected by a researchermade form and analyzed using descriptive statistics (e.g., frequency, percentage, and mean) and chi-square in SPSS software (version 20). The significance level was considered less than 0.05
 Results: The absolute neutrophil count was less than 500 cells/ml in 15.38% of the patients (n = 8). Infection was the cause of FN in 69.23% of the subjects (n = 36). An unknown factor was the cause of infection in 30.77% of the cases. The incidence of all types of infections (i.e., perianal abscess, sepsis, oral infection, cutaneous infection, gastrointestinal infection, pharyngitis, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection) was higher in patients undergoing chemotherapy than that reported for those not receiving chemotherapy.
 Conclusions: The results of this study suggested that cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy should be aware of infection signs; accordingly, they can visit treatment centers in case of the first symptoms of infection to prevent progression of infection and reduce mortality rates.