title: Febrile episodes in children with cancer in the United Arab Emirates.
abstract: The febrile episodes encountered in our pediatric oncology unit over a 2-year period were reviewed. A total of 138 febrile episodes were recorded in 59 patients (29 with leukemia and 30 with a solid tumor). There was no difference in the number of episodes between leukemia and solid tumor patients, nor between neutropenic and non-neutropenic patients. The degree of neutropenia was more severe in leukemia patients. A total of 18.8% of the episodes were accompanied by positive blood cultures. Gram-positive bacteria were more frequent than gram-negative bacteria, and there were four anaerobic isolates. Seventeen episodes were accompanied by clinical signs of central venous line (CVL) infection. A total of 70.2% of the episodes resolved with a first-line antibiotic combination of flucloxacillin, piperacillin, and netilmicin, 27.5% required modification of the antibiotic combination, and three patients (5%) died due to gram-negative septicemia. These findings indicate that the pattern of infectious complications in the United Arab Emirates is now similar to that observed in Europe and the United States.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahmood
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Révész
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mpofu
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000175:diagnosis; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009181:Mycoses / Q000150:complications*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014479:United Arab Emirates