Surveillance cultures in neutropenic cancer patients

Abstract

Patients with malignancy are at increased risk of infections, either because of the underlying disease, the treatment of the underlying disease or as a result of prolonged hospitalization (Pizzo et al., 1997).

Neutropenia remains the factor most frequently predisposing to infection in cancer patients and their treatment. The risk for the life-threatening infection when neutrophil count fall below 500 cells/nun, not only is an important complication of therapy and a major cause of death in cancer patients but also play an important role in the design, schedule, and doses of cancer treatment regimens. Neutropenia remains unavoidable complication of current therapy (Pizzo.,1994).

Neutropenic cancer patients often fail to develop the characteristic signs and symptoms of infection since they are unable to mount an adequate inflamatory response . Fever might be the only sign and /or symptom for infection and should be considered to suspect the the presence of infection ,unless proved otherwise (Sobel et al.,1990).

The s.usceptability of their patients to infection may be due to absence of granulocytes or defect in their functions. The sites of infections are primarilly the alimentary tract (i.e,pharynx, oesophagus, small, large bowel and rectum ), the paranasal sinuses , skin, and lungs (Wade 1996) .

Although infection in neutropenic cancer patients remains a continuing challenge as the modalities of cancer treatment evolve and new pathogens