ECONOMIC-ASPECTS OF EMPIRIC ANTIBIOTIC-THERAPY FOR FEBRILE NEUTROPENIA IN CHILDREN WITH CANCER

Several antibiotic regimens have been proposed worldwide for empiric t reatment of febrile neutropenia in children with cancer, but none of t hem shows clear advantages in terms of clinical efficacy. Therefore, o ther parameters, including drug acquisition costs, should be considere d in the selection of treatment. Children receive a ''fraction'' of a standard daily dose, and this fraction is generally calculated on the basis of body weight; therefore, the cost of each day of therapy is de termined by the packages available for each single drug. We calculated the acquisition costs of various drugs proposed for the empiric treat ment of febrile neutropenia in children with cancer, and then we estim ated the daily cost of therapy referred to different patient weights. In general, the combination regimen with ceftriaxone plus aminoglycosi de turned out to be less expensive than other regimens (including mono therapy with third-generation cephalosporins or carbapenems).