SEPTICEMIA IN PEDIATRIC CANCER-PATIENTS - A 5-YEAR SURVEILLANCE STUDYIN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, KUALA-LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

Infectious complications are the major cause of morbidity and mortalit y in children with malignancy. Empirical antimicrobial therapy in the management of fever of unknown origin should be tailored to local bact eriological data and antibiotic sensitivity patterns. Five-hundred-and -fifty-nine cases of culture-proven septicaemia occurring in pediatric cancer patients between 1990 and 1994 were retrospectively analysed a nd compared with a similar study done in our centre between 1976 and 1 979. A wide spectrum of organisms was isolated. Staphylococcus epiderm idis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most c ommon and consistent bacteria isolated during the 5 year period. More than 70 per cent of the staphylococci were sensitive to methicillin an d universally sensitive to vancomycin. However, a worrying trend of ce ftazidime-resistance amongst gramnegative organisms was found. In thes e situations, the use of imipenem is recommended as resistance to this antimicrobial agent was exceedingly rare.