title: Imipenem/cilastatin as initial therapy for febrile neutropenic patients.
abstract: Imipenem 2 g daily was administered intravenously to 40 evaluable patients with neutropenia and fever. Twenty-three patients had acute leukaemia and 17 malignant lymphoma. The overall response rate was 70.0%. Of the 14 patients with documented infection, 9 (64.3%) responded. Poorer responses were observed in patients with pneumonia (40%) or pseudomonal infection (50%). The response rate was significantly higher among patients with increasing neutrophil counts during therapy (P less than 0.02). Fungal infection was a common cause of treatment failure. Gastrointestinal side effects and skin rashes were occasionally seen. No patient developed central nervous system toxicity. Imipenem is a practical alternative to antibiotic combinations for management of neutropenic infection. However, careful monitoring is essential in the subgroups of patients with pneumonia or pseudomonal infections, who may require modifications of therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yung
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Todd
mesh_terms: D000380:Agranulocytosis / Q000150:complications*; D015377:Cilastatin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004150:Dipeptidases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D015377:Cilastatin; D015378:Imipenem; D004150:Dipeptidases