Introduction: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in oncology and haematology units worldwide. The overall mortality in hospital surveys in Singapore surveys on post-chemotherapy FN has ranged between 3.0% and 8.8%. However, recent evidence indicates that outpatient management of patients with low-risk FN is safe and cost-effective.
Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective audit on a cohort of adult patients with post-chemotherapy FN seen at 2 local public sector cancer centres over a 1-year period in order to define their epidemiological characteristics and outcomes, and also to assess the uptake of early discharge/outpatient management strategies for these patients.
Results: We reviewed 306 FN episodes from 248 patients. Patient characteristics and outcomes were similar between both institutions. Eleven (3.7%) FN episodes were managed as outpatient and none developed complications. Overall 30-day mortality was 6.6%, while the median length of stay (LOS) was 7 days (IQR: 4 to 11 days). The only independent risk factor for mortality was severe sepsis (OR:13.19; 95% CI: 1.98 to 87.7; P = 0.008). Factors independently associated with a longer LOS were vancomycin prescription (coefficient: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.41; P = 0.003), longer duration of intravenous antibiotics (coefficient: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.10; P <0.001), and prior review by an infectious diseases physician (coefficient: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.31; P = 0.034).
Conclusion: This audit demonstrated that mortality from FN in our 2 cancer centres is low and comparable to international institutions. It also demonstrates that outpatient management of FN is safe in selected patients, and can be further expanded for right-siting of resources.