title: Imipenem-cilastatin as initial therapy for febrile cancer patients.
abstract: Imipenem-cilastatin was used to treat 79 febrile episodes in 71 cancer patients, most of whom had neutropenia. The overall response rate was 67%, and 76% of the 45 documented infections responded. The response rates for septicemias and pneumonias were 79 and 62%, respectively. Only 1 of the 17 infections caused by gram-negative bacilli failed to respond to this therapy. The most common side effects were skin rash, nausea, and diarrhea. Eight superinfections were detected during therapy.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015377:Cilastatin; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003521:Cyclopropanes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D018805:Sepsis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D013845:Thienamycins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D003521:Cyclopropanes; D004338:Drug Combinations; D013845:Thienamycins; D015377:Cilastatin; D015378:Imipenem