Epidemiology of Febrile Neutropenia in Children With Central Nervous System Tumor: Results From a Single Center Prospective Study

Data regarding the epidemiology febrile neutropenia during chemotherapy for pediatric central nervous system neoplasia are scarce. Data retrieved from a prospective study performed from January 2002 to December 2004 at G. Gaslini Children Hospital, Genoa, Italy, where analyzed to evaluate proportions, rate for 1000 neutropenic days and etiology of fever in neutropenic children receiving gentle, standard, or peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) therapy for central nervous system tumor. During the study duration, 243 periods of neutropenia (granulocyte count < 1000/cmm), accounting for 3544 patient-days at risk, were documented in 62 children. A total of 72 febrile episodes were observed in 66 (27%) neutropenic periods, for a rate of 20.31. A primary febrile episode was observed in 10% of neutropenic periods after gentle chemotherapy, in 30% after standard chemotherapy, and in 48% after PBSCT (P < 0.0001). The rate of primary febrile episodes was 6.19 after a gentle chemotherapy, 27.02 after standard treatment, and 31.02 after PBSCT (P < 0.0001). In a multivariable regression model, the type of chemotherapy (gentle vs. standard and PBSCT) and the thresholds of granulocyte count at neutropenia onset (999-501/cmm and 500-101/cmm vs. <= 100/cmm) were the only factors significantly associated with the development of febrile neutropenia.