TABLE 1.
Clinical characteristics of children and fever episodes in CI cohort, IA cohort and total cohort (CI + IA)
| Characteristic | CI cohort | IA cohort | Total population (CI + IA) a | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Included patients | n = 38 | n = 43 | n = 78 | |
| Gender, n (%) | ||||
| Male | 24 (63%) | 27 (63%) | 49 (63%) | 0.995 |
| Female | 14 (37%) | 16 (37%) | 29 (37%) | |
| Age (years) | 6.5 (4–15) b | 12 (7–14) | 10.5 (5–14) | 0.174 |
| Body weight (kg) | 27.4 (15.1–54.0) | 39.4 (22.5–50.4) | 31.6 (20–51) | 0.141 |
| Body surface area (m2) | 0.97 (0.64–1.60) | 1.31 (0.90–1.58) | 1.12 (0.77–1.58) | 0.109 |
| Underlying malignancy, n (%) | ||||
| Hematological malignancies | 17 (45%) c | 18 (42%) | 32 (42%) | 0.868 |
| Solid tumors | 21 (55%) d | 25 (58%) | 46 (59%) | |
| GFR (ml/min/1.73 m2)5 | 175.5 (133.3–209.3) | 171.5 (147.8–208.4) | 176.1 (136.6–209.9) | 0.923 |
| Fever episodes | n = 68 | n = 89 | n = 157 | |
| Positive blood culture, n (%) | 6 (9%) | 10 (11%) | 16 (10%) | 1.000 |
| Viridans streptococci | 3 (30%) | 3 (19%) | ||
| Gram‐positive cocci, unspecified | 1 (17%) | 1 (6%) | ||
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa | 1 (17%) | 1 (6%) | ||
| Micrococcus | 2 (33%) | 3 (30%) | 5 (31%) | |
| CoNS | 2 (33%) | 2 (20%) | 4 (25%) | |
| Staphylococcus aureus | 1 (10%) | 1 (6%) | ||
| Klebsiella pneumoniae | 1 (10%) | 1 (6%) | ||
| Fever of unknown origin | 44 (65%) | 69 (78%) | 113 (72%) | 0.100 |
| Local infection | 18 (26%) | 10 (11%) | 28 (18%) | 0.033 |
| GFR (ml/min/1.73 m2) e | 174.9 (150.4;225.7) | 172.4 (139.8–210.8) | 174.4 (144.1–220.8) | 0.916 |
| Neutropenia (x109/L) f | 49 (72%) | 77 (87%) | 126 (80%) | 0.126 |
| Duration of fever (days) | 3.5 (3–4) | 1 (1–3) | 3 (3–4) | 0.245 |
| CRP (mg/L) | 34.5 (19.7–54.9) | ‐ | ‐ | |
| Maximum CRP (mg/L) | 80.9 (44.5–135.9) | ‐ | ‐ | |
| No. of piperacillin‐tazobactam bolus doses before start of CI g | 5.5 (3–9) | ‐ | ‐ | |
| CI disruption >30 min | 9/68 (13%) |
Note: Continuous variables are presented as medians (IQR) and dichotomous data are presented as a number (%).
Abbreviations: ANC, Absolute Neutrophil Count; CI, Continuous infusion; CoNS; Coagulase negative staphylococci; CRP, C‐reactive protein; IA, Intermittent administration; IQR, Interquartile range.
Three children were enrolled in both IA and CI cohort, thus n = 78 (total population).
Age distribution: 0–5 years: n = 16; >5–10 years: n = 5; >10–15 years; n = 8; >15 years: n = 9.
Hematological malignancies; acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 9), acute myeloid leukemia (n = 3), unspecified leukemia (n = 2), B‐cell Non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 1), Hodgkins lymphoma (n = 1), myelomatosis (n = 1).
Solid tumors; medulloblastoma (n = 4), neuroblastoma (n = 3), osteosarcoma (n = 2), langerhans histiocytosis (n = 1), other sarcomas (n = 1), Ewing sarcoma (n = 9), Wilms tumor (n = 1).
GFR: glomerular filtration rate calculated from the Schwartz equation 28 ; GFR = kL/Pcr (L: body length in cm, Pcr: plasma creatinine concentration in mg/dl and k: constant of proportionality).
Neutropenia: ANC < 0.5 x 109/L on the day of admission.
Range (1–39).