Fast-track Blood Test for Suspected Fever by Deficiency of a Kind of White Blood Cells As Main Defense Against Infection

Summary

This is a comparative study for adult participants with cancer who are suspected to have neutropenic fever (or fever with low neutrophil count) in emergency department. Neutrophil is a kind of defensive white blood cell combating against infection, especially by bacteria and fungi. Low neutrophil can be part of the disease progress or secondary to some cancer treatment. These participants are at high risk of developing infection-related complications including death. Currently a dedicated clinical pathway has been in place in emergency department for suspected neutropenic fever, which offers fast-track medical consultation, blood tests and a very strong antibiotic (meropenem) as the first choice within 1 hour of registration. However, majority of such participants' neutrophil counts are not low. Most of them have no bacterial infection in the body, and have unremarkable short hospital stays. Early administration of meropenem in the majority of cases may be unnecessary and imposes risk of developing antibiotic resistance. This study attempts to answer the question, "In adult participants with cancer presenting to emergency department with suspected neutropenic fever, when compared with conventional treatment, can a new protocol guided by fast-track neutrophil count reduces prescription of meropenem?" Agreed participants will be randomly assigned to the conventional treatment group, or the new treatment group. For those who are assigned to the new treatment group, blood will be taken and sent to the hospital laboratory for urgent analysis of neutrophil count. Participants with proven low neutrophil counts will still receive meropenem, while those without low neutrophil counts will receive less strong antibiotic according to their clinical diagnoses, such as Augmentin. They will be followed up on the first 7 days, and then on the 14th, 30th, 90th, and 180th days after recruitment. Comparisons will be made to see how much less meropenem will be prescribed, and whether more serious adverse events will happen. The study is expected to take 37 months to complete. Duration of data collection, including the day of last follow up, is estimated to be 33 months.

Timeline

Start

2022-10-24

Primary completion

2025-03-14

Completion

2025-06-30

Publications

• Background Weycker D, Li X, Edelsberg J, Barron R, Kartashov A, Xu H, Lyman GH. Risk and Consequences of Chemotherapy-Induced Febrile Neutropenia in Patients With Metastatic Solid Tumors. J Oncol Pract. 2015 Jan;11(1):47-54. doi: 10.1200/JOP.2014.001492. Epub 2014 Dec 9.
• Background Culakova E, Thota R, Poniewierski MS, Kuderer NM, Wogu AF, Dale DC, Crawford J, Lyman GH. Patterns of chemotherapy-associated toxicity and supportive care in US oncology practice: a nationwide prospective cohort study. Cancer Med. 2014 Apr;3(2):434-44. doi: 10.1002/cam4.200. Epub 2014 Feb 17.
• Background Caggiano V, Weiss RV, Rickert TS, Linde-Zwirble WT. Incidence, cost, and mortality of neutropenia hospitalization associated with chemotherapy. Cancer. 2005 May 1;103(9):1916-24. doi: 10.1002/cncr.20983.
• Background Klastersky J, Ameye L, Maertens J, Georgala A, Muanza F, Aoun M, Ferrant A, Rapoport B, Rolston K, Paesmans M. Bacteraemia in febrile neutropenic cancer patients. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2007 Nov;30 Suppl 1:S51-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2007.06.012. Epub 2007 Aug 8.
• Background Bodey GP, Buckley M, Sathe YS, Freireich EJ. Quantitative relationships between circulating leukocytes and infection in patients with acute leukemia. Ann Intern Med. 1966 Feb;64(2):328-40. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-64-2-328. No abstract available.
• Background Kuderer NM, Dale DC, Crawford J, Cosler LE, Lyman GH. Mortality, morbidity, and cost associated with febrile neutropenia in adult cancer patients. Cancer. 2006 May 15;106(10):2258-66. doi: 10.1002/cncr.21847.
• Background Ihbe-Heffinger A, Paessens BJ, von Schilling C, Shlaen M, Gottschalk N, Berger K, Bernard R, Kiechle M, Peschel C, Jacobs VR. Management of febrile neutropenia--a German prospective hospital cost analysis in lymphoproliferative disorders, non-small cell lung cancer, and primary breast cancer. Onkologie. 2011;34(5):241-6. doi: 10.1159/000327711. Epub 2011 Apr 26.
• Background Wang XJ, Wong M, Hsu LY, Chan A. Costs associated with febrile neutropenia in solid tumor and lymphoma patients - an observational study in Singapore. BMC Health Serv Res. 2014 Sep 24;14:434. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-14-434.
• Background Wang XJ, Lopez SE, Chan A. Economic burden of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia in patients with lymphoma: a systematic review. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2015 May;94(2):201-12. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2014.12.011. Epub 2014 Dec 31.
• Background Taplitz RA, Kennedy EB, Bow EJ, Crews J, Gleason C, Hawley DK, Langston AA, Nastoupil LJ, Rajotte M, Rolston KV, Strasfeld L, Flowers CR. Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for Adult Patients With Cancer-Related Immunosuppression: ASCO and IDSA Clinical Practice Guideline Update. J Clin Oncol. 2018 Oct 20;36(30):3043-3054. doi: 10.1200/JCO.18.00374. Epub 2018 Sep 4.
• Background Kobayashi SD, Voyich JM, Burlak C, DeLeo FR. Neutrophils in the innate immune response. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz). 2005 Nov-Dec;53(6):505-17.
• Background Boxer L, Dale DC. Neutropenia: causes and consequences. Semin Hematol. 2002 Apr;39(2):75-81. doi: 10.1053/shem.2002.31911.
• Background Pasikhova Y, Ludlow S, Baluch A. Fever in Patients With Cancer. Cancer Control. 2017 Apr;24(2):193-197. doi: 10.1177/107327481702400212.
• Background Castagnola E, Mikulska M, Viscoli C. Prophylaxis and Empirical Therapy of Infection in Cancer Patients. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 2015:3395-3413.e2. doi: 10.1016/B978-1-4557-4801-3.00310-6. Epub 2014 Oct 31. PMCID: PMC7173426.
• Background Pizzo PA, Robichaud KJ, Wesley R, Commers JR. Fever in the pediatric and young adult patient with cancer. A prospective study of 1001 episodes. Medicine (Baltimore). 1982 May;61(3):153-65. doi: 10.1097/00005792-198205000-00003. No abstract available.
• Background Taplitz RA, Kennedy EB, Bow EJ, Crews J, Gleason C, Hawley DK, Langston AA, Nastoupil LJ, Rajotte M, Rolston K, Strasfeld L, Flowers CR. Outpatient Management of Fever and Neutropenia in Adults Treated for Malignancy: American Society of Clinical Oncology and Infectious Diseases Society of America Clinical Practice Guideline Update. J Clin Oncol. 2018 May 10;36(14):1443-1453. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2017.77.6211. Epub 2018 Feb 20.
• Background Levy MM, Evans LE, Rhodes A. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign Bundle: 2018 update. Intensive Care Med. 2018 Jun;44(6):925-928. doi: 10.1007/s00134-018-5085-0. Epub 2018 Apr 19. No abstract available.
• Background Ko HF, Tsui SS, Tse JW, Kwong WY, Chan OY, Wong GC. Improving the emergency department management of post-chemotherapy sepsis in haematological malignancy patients. Hong Kong Med J. 2015 Feb;21(1):10-5. doi: 10.12809/hkmj144280. Epub 2014 Oct 10.
• Background Peyrony O, Gerlier C, Barla I, Ellouze S, Legay L, Azoulay E, Chevret S, Fontaine JP. Antibiotic prescribing and outcomes in cancer patients with febrile neutropenia in the emergency department. PLoS One. 2020 Feb 28;15(2):e0229828. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229828. eCollection 2020.
• Background Freifeld AG, Bow EJ, Sepkowitz KA, Boeckh MJ, Ito JI, Mullen CA, Raad II, Rolston KV, Young JA, Wingard JR; Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clinical practice guideline for the use of antimicrobial agents in neutropenic patients with cancer: 2010 update by the infectious diseases society of america. Clin Infect Dis. 2011 Feb 15;52(4):e56-93. doi: 10.1093/cid/cir073.
• Background Velasco E, Byington R, Martins CA, Schirmer M, Dias LM, Goncalves VM. Comparative study of clinical characteristics of neutropenic and non-neutropenic adult cancer patients with bloodstream infections. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2006 Jan;25(1):1-7. doi: 10.1007/s10096-005-0077-8.
• Background Zhu J, Zhou K, Jiang Y, Liu H, Bai H, Jiang J, Gao Y, Cai Q, Tong Y, Song X, Wang C, Wan L. Bacterial Pathogens Differed Between Neutropenic and Non-neutropenic Patients in the Same Hematological Ward: An 8-Year Survey. Clin Infect Dis. 2018 Nov 13;67(suppl_2):S174-S178. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciy643.
• Background So SN, Ong CW, Wong LY, Chung JY, Graham CA. Is the Modified Early Warning Score able to enhance clinical observation to detect deteriorating patients earlier in an Accident & Emergency Department? Australas Emerg Nurs J. 2015 Feb;18(1):24-32. doi: 10.1016/j.aenj.2014.12.001. Epub 2015 Jan 15.

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