Prediction of neutropenia

Newer treatment strategies for the management of febrile neutropenic patien ts are being developed. These include: (a) hospital based oral therapy; (b) early discharge after initial stabilization in-hospital, and (c) out-patie nt therapy. All strategies are likely to be more successful in patients wit h short-lived neutropenia (less than or equal to7 days) than in those with more prolonged neutropenia. Although risk-prediction rules and clinical cri teria can help clinicians identify 'low-risk' neutropenic patients, the ove rall ability of clinicians to accurately predict the subsequent duration of neutropenia once a neutropenic patient becomes febrile needs to be improve d upon considerably. One attempt to do so is the survey being conducted by the Infection Study Section of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). Development of an accurate rule for the prediction of neutropenia will enable more appropriate, risk-based therapy to be admin istered to febrile neutropenic patients, and will represent a significant a dvance in the management of such patients. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. a nd International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.