Management of febrile neutropenia in cancer patients: Emergency diagnostic and therapeutic approaches

Abstract

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a frequent and potentially serious complication in cancer patients, characterized by the presence of fever associated with a significant reduction in neutrophil count, usually as an adverse effect of chemotherapy. The objective of this study is to discuss the main diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in the management of FN. The study was carried out through a search in the Medline/PubMed, Virtual Health Library (BVS) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo) databases. The research question and strategy used were based on the PICO model. Clinical trials, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, full articles, books and documents published in English, Spanish and Portuguese in the last 5 years were included. A total of 726 articles were initially found. After analysis and elimination of duplicates, 533 references were analyzed by title and abstract, of which 99 were included for full reading. After this stage, 89 references were excluded. In the end, 10 studies were considered eligible. The available evidence reinforces that early recognition and appropriate emergency management of NF are essential to reduce complications, decrease mortality and improve the prognosis of cancer patients.