Neutropenic Fever

Neutropenia is defined as an abnormally low absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and can be further delineated as severe or profound (see below). Recipients of chemotherapy will often have a decreased ANC leading to an increased risk of infections specifically from bacterial sources. Neutropenia traditionally is risk stratified based on duration and depth of neutropenia. Recipients of chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and stem cell transplants (SCTs) often are deemed as having high risk neutropenia due to significant depth and duration of neutropenia. The mortality associated with febrile neutropenia is up to 11%, and can be as high as 50% in the setting of severe sepsis or septic shock. By risk stratifying neutropenia and the resultant neutropenic fever, the goal is to decrease the resultant morbidity and mortality (Taplitz et al., J Clin Oncol 36:3043–3054).