title: Ceftriaxone plus amikacin in neutropenic patients: a report on 100 cases.
abstract: 100 febrile patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (less than 0.5 x 10(9)/l) were empirically treated by ceftriaxone (2 g daily in adults, 50 mg/kg daily in children, as a once daily injection) and amikacin (15-20 mg/kg daily). The mean age was 41 years (range 8-72). 51 patients had acute leukemia, 29 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 12 Hodgkin's disease, 8 other disorders. 23 febrile episodes were bacteriologically documented (gram-positive: 13 patients; gram-negative: 8 patients; Candida: 2 patients) including 13 cases of bacteremia; 10 were clinically documented, and 67 remained of undetermined origin. Apyrexia was obtained in 39 patients by ceftriaxone plus amikacin alone (success), in 36 patients after the addition of vancomycin and/or amphotericin B (improvement), whereas in the remaining 25 patients it was necessary to substitute the study drug. The failure rate was correlated to the duration of neutropenia: 0/13 when neutropenia less than 6 days; 3/41 (7%) when 6-10 days; 22/46 (48%) when greater than 10 days. Only 2/20 (10%) of patients with neutropenia greater than 20 days were treated with ceftriaxone plus amikacin alone. 9 of the 23 bacteriologically documented episodes were successes (including 6 of the 11 cases due to Staphylococcus), 7 were improvements and 7 were failures (including the 3 cases due to Pseudomonas). No side effects were seen. Ceftriaxone plus amikacin is an effective firstline antibiotic combination in the treatment of febrile neutropenic patients.
authors.affiliation: Service des Maladies du Sang, CHR, Lille, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blanc
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pollet
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bauters
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000583:Amikacin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D002443:Ceftriaxone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000150:complications; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D002443:Ceftriaxone; D000583:Amikacin