Background & objective: The cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia often suffer from fever and infection, but current opinions on the correlation of the fever to infection are controversial. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and correlation of fever and infection in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.
Methods: Clinical data of 256 in-patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia from Jan. to Jul. 2007 were analyzed. The occurrence of fever and infection in these patients were analyzed by using descriptive analysis and agreement test.
Results: Of the 256 patients, 100 (39.1%) suffered from fever, and 42 (16.4%) experienced infection. The temperature of febrile patients was (39.0+/-0.64)celsius. The main sites of infection were the pharynx (42.9%), oral cavity (21.4%) and low respiratory tract (14.3%). The consistency rate was 0.75 between fever and infection (Kappa=0.414, P<0.001).
Conclusion: The incidence of fever and infection in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia are high with a moderate agreement between fever and infection.