Table 2.

Clinical characteristics of subjects treated with long‐term antibiotics with and without neutropenia.

	Neutropenic	Control	p value
Antibiotic length, days: median (range)
Total	38 (29−62)	28 (14−122)	0.0021
IV	23.5 (0−59)	7 (2−56)	0.0013
PO	11 (0−51)	19 (0−119)	0.1026
Number of classes of antibiotic used, N (%)			0.6390
≤2	2 (20%)	4 (14%)
≥3	8 (80%)	25 (86%)
Class of antibiotic used, N (%)			0.4384
Cephalosporins	9 (90%)	26 (90%)
Penicillin	5 (50%)	14 (48%)
Glycopeptide	8 (80%)	26 (90%)
Lincomycin	5 (50%)	10 (34%)
Nitroimidazole	5 (50%)	15 (52%)
Sulfonamides	2 (20%)	5 (17%)
Fluoroquinolones	1 (10%)	1 (3%)
Aminoglycosides	2 (20%)	0
Macrolides	1 (10%)	0
Carbapenems	0	1 (3%)
Infection type, N (%)			0.6892
Gram positive	7 (70%)	17 (59%)
Gram negative	1 (10%)	1 (3%)
Polymicrobial	1 (10%)	3 (10%)
Culture negative	1 (10%)	7 (24%)
Organ/system involved			0.1279
Soft tissue & skin	4 (40%)	16 (55%)
Bone/Joint	6 (60%)	10 (34%)
CNS	2 (20%)	1 (3%)
Blood/bacteremia	3 (30%)	2 (7%)
Heart (endocarditis)	2 (20%)	0
Respiratory	3 (30%)	13 (45%)
Gastrointestinal	0	1 (3%)
Urogenital	1 (10%)	1 (3%)
Length of admission, days: median (range)	13 (3−54)	7 (1−22)	0.0393
ICU admission, N (%)	5 (50%)	0	<0.0001

Note: Statistical significance defined as p < 0.05 determined by parametric t‐test or nonparametric Mann–Whitney test for continuous variables, and Chi‐square or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables (n = 10 in neutropenic group, 29 in non‐neutropenic group). Some subjects received several classes of antibiotics, both IV and PO; and their infections affected more than one organ/system.

Abbreviations: CNS, Central Nervous System; ICU, Intensive Care Unit; IV, intravenous; PO, oral.