[Therapy of infections in patients with acute leukemia].
BACKGROUND
Infections are the major cause for treatment failure in acute leukemias. They mostly present as fever of unknown origin (FUO), a smaller but prognostically unfavorable group are pneumonias. The effective management of infectious complications requires a symptom and response adapted interventional strategy.
In case of FUO standard therapy consists of the two drug combination of aminoglycoside plus acylaminopenicillin or third generation cephalosporine. In case of non-response carbapenems and a glycopeptide should be applied and a systemic antifungal treatment must be initiated. In pneumonia amphotericin B should be added to antibiotics already initially. Potent single agents with a broad spectrum of activity as well as new antifungal drugs provide attractive perspectives for future evaluations.


CONCLUSIONS
By a consequent step-wise oscalating interventional treatment strategy infections in patients with acute leukemias can be successfully treated.
Hiddemann
W
W
Abteilung Hämatologie und Onkologie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.
Maschmeyer
G
G
Link
H
H
Helmerking
M
M
Adam
D
D
D000208:Acute Disease; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents