Abstract
Purpose of review
Neutropenia and its related infections are still a significant challenge in the treatment of patients with onco-hematological diseases, impacting increased mortality and morbidity. In this review, we compiled up-to-date scientific evidence on infection control in neutropenic patients and discussed the potential role of new technologies
Recent findings
Traditional measures such as hand hygiene (HH), patient’s skincare, central venous catheter care, environment protection, and contact isolation are the cornerstone of infection prevention in neutropenic patients while antibiotic prophylaxis is still a debated issue. Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) are increasing as reported in this population, and new techniques such as decolonization and the use of predictive models for infection by MDRO could play a pivotal role.
Summary
Well-established measures should always be enhanced and stimulated. New technological tools based on artificial intelligence algorithms could lead to personalized infection control practices and better outcomes. More studies are needed to evaluate these new tools in the real-world setting.
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Abbreviations
- HH:
-
Hand hygiene
- HCT:
-
Hematopoietic cell transplantation
- CVC:
-
Central venous catheter
- CRBSI:
-
Catheter-related bloodstream infection
- CNS:
-
Coagulase-negative Staphylococci
- CDC:
-
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- HEPA:
-
High-efficiency particulate air
- MDRO:
-
Multidrug-resistant organisms
- FN:
-
febrile neutropenia
- ESBL:
-
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase
- CRE:
-
Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteria
- FMT:
-
Fecal microbiota transplantation
- EHR:
-
Electronic health records
- MDR-GNB:
-
Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Anthony Armenta for providing English language assistance of the publication at hand.
Funding
This study has been co-funded by a research grant from the Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Instituto de Salud Carlos III [FIS PI18/01061] and a European Regional Development Fund (EDRD). CG-V has received the INTENSIFICACIÓ Grant—a grant supported by the Catalan Health Agency (PERIS [Pla estratègic de recerca i innovació en salut—“Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation in HealthCare”]). Our group is recognized by the AGAUR (Project 2017SGR1432) of the Catalan Health Agency. Dr. Pedro Puerta-Alcalde has received a pre-doctoral grant supported by the Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Instituto de Salud Carlos III [RH041828].
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CG-V has received honoraria for talks on behalf of Gilead Science, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Pfizer, Janssen, Novartis, and Lilly as well as grant support from Gilead Science and Merck Sharp and Dohme. PP-A has received honoraria for talks on behalf of Pfizer. AS has received honoraria for talks on behalf of Merck Sharp and Dohme, Pfizer, Novartis, and Angellini as well as grant support from Pfizer.
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Morales, H.M.P., Puerta-Alcalde, P., Sanjuan-Gomez, G. et al. Up-to-Date Infection Control Practices for Febrile Neutropenic Patients. Curr Treat Options Infect Dis 12, 77–86 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40506-020-00214-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40506-020-00214-9