Abstract
Traditionally febrile neutropenic patients have been treated with parenteral antibiotics in an inpatient setting; however, recent work by several investigators has demonstrated successful treatment with both parenteral and oral antibiotics in an ambulatory environment. This has been accomplished by identification of low-risk neutropenic patients, advances in broad-spectrum antibiotics with long half-lives and stabilities, the introduction of the oral quinolones, home health-care initiatives, improvements in vascular access devices, and development of technically enhanced antibiotic delivery systems. Outpatient antibiotic therapy for febrile episodes in low-risk neutropenic patients should now be considered an acceptable alternative to hospital-based treatment. This review focuses on the development and rationale of risk stratification and examines the results of various outpatient antibiotic trials recently completed.
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Escalante, C.P., Rubenstein, E.B. & Rolston, K.V.I. Outpatient antibiotic treatment in low-risk febrile neutropenic cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 4, 358–363 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01788842
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01788842