Table 3.
Characteristics and outcome of invasive infections*
| Invasive infections | Infections in patients NOT fulfilling GTX criteria | Infections in patients fulfilling GTX criteria | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All infections | 224 (166 pts) | 173 (138 pts) | 51 (34 pts) | |
| Infectious events per neutropenic episode | 0.04 | |||
| 1 | 182 (81.3) | 146 (84.4) | 36 (70.6) | |
| 2 | 40 (17.8) | 25 (14.5) | 15 (29.4) | |
| 3 | 2 (0.9) | 2 (1.2) | 0 (0) | |
| Fever at diagnosis | 178 (80.9) | 131 (77.5) | 47 (92.2) | 0.02 |
| Bacterial infections | 133 (59.4) | 103 (59.5) | 28 (54.9) | |
| Bacteremia | 118 (89.4) | 95 (92.2) | 22 (78.6) | 0.08 |
| Invasive tissue infection | 21 (15.9) | 12 (11.7) | 9 (32.1) | 0.014 |
| Both | 7 (5.3) | 4 (3.9) | 3 (10.7) | |
| Fungal infections | 50 (22.3) | 33 (19.1) | 17 (33.3) | 0.99 |
| Possible | 27 (54.0) | 18 (54.5) | 9 (52.9) | |
| Probable | 17 (34.0) | 11 (33.3) | 6 (35.3) | |
| Proven | 6 (12.0) | 4 (12.1) | 2 (11.8) | |
| Suspicion of an invasive infection without proof | 41 (18.3) | 37 (21.4) | 6 (11.8) | |
| Outcome of infections after 21 days | ||||
| Blood cultures became negative | 103 (87.3) | 90 (94.7) | 13 (59.1) | 0.019 |
| Bacterial tissue infection | ||||
| CR | 10 (58.8) | 8 (72.2) | 2 (33.3) | |
| PR | 4 (23.5) | 2 (18.2) | 2 (33.3) | |
| SD | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| PD | 1 (5.9) | 1 (9.1) | 0 | |
| Death | 2 (11.8) | 0 | 2 (33.3) | |
| Fungal tissue infection | ||||
| CR | 14 (31.8) | 13 (43.4) | 1 (7.1) | |
| PR | 19 (43.2) | 10 (33.3) | 7 (50.0) | |
| SD | 3 (6.8 | 3 (10.0) | 2 (14.3) | |
| PD | 4 (9.1) | 3 (10.0) | 1 (7.1) | |
| Death | 4 (9.1) | 1 (3.3) | 3 (21.4) | |
| Episodes with infections | 182 | 146 | 36 | |
| Time of infection after start neutropenia† | 6.0 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 0.118 |
| Considered life threatening | 47 (25.8) | 11 (7.5) | 36 (100) | <0.001 |
| Estimated life expectancy >3 months‡ | 163 (89.6) | 136 (93.2) | 28 (77.8) | <0.001 |
| Expectancy of bone marrow regeneration | 164 (90.1) | 137 (93.8) | 28 (77.8) | <0.001 |
| Infections unresponsive to antimicrobial therapy for | ||||
| 48 hr | 71 (39.0) | 35 (24.0) | 36 (100) | <0.001 |
| 96 hr | 53 (29.1) | 22 (15.1) | 31 (86.1) | <0.001 |
| G‐CSF use | 73 (40.1) | 53 (36.3) | 20 (55.6) | 0.059 |
| Treatment with GTX | 11 (6.0) | 2 (1.4) | 9 (25.0) | <0.001 |
| Length of hospital stay§ | 23.0 | 23.0 | 29 .0 | 0.224 |
*
Data are reported as number (%).
†
Median length in days after start neutropenia.
‡
Without the presence of the infection.
§
Median length of hospital stay until discharge or death in days. Percentages are calculated taken into account missing items. p values are shown comparing infections fulfilling GTX criteria with infections not fulfilling GTX criteria.
CR = complete response; PR = partial response; PD = progressive disease; SD = stable disease.