title: Risk factors associated with life-threatening infections in children with febrile neutropenia: a data mining approach.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine risk factors (RFs) and their relationship with life-threatening infection (LTI) in children with febrile neutropenia (FN).
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, from December 2008 to November 2009, all children with FN admitted to Dr Sheikh Pediatric Hospital were enrolled. For each patient, demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were recorded and they were followed up for occurrence of LTI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and twenty episodes of FN in 68 patients were analyzed. The most common underlying disease was acute lymphoblastic leukemia (53.3%), 9 (7.5%) died from an infection and 35 patients (29.1%) had a LTI. Five variables were identified as RFs for LTI, that is, body temperature ≥39°C (P=0.000), presence of mucositis (P=0.000), abnormal chest x-ray (P=0.001), platelet count <20,000/mm (P=0.000), and absolute neutrophil count <100/mm (P=0.001). Risk of LTI was increasing according to number of RFs presented at the beginning of admission (from 2.8% in patients without RF to 100% in patients with 5 RF). Data mining analysis showed relationship between RFs with platelet count as the most important variable in the high-risk group for LTI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evaluation of important RFs and judging the severity of patients' condition by studying the importance and relationship between RF at the time of admission can be a useful method for screening LTI in children with FN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Dr Sheikh Pediatric Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. badieez@mums.ac.ir
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Badiei
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khalesi
authors.forename: Mohammad Hasan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Alami
authors.forename: Hamid Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kianifar
authors.forename: Abdollah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banihashem
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Farhangi
authors.forename: Amir Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Razavi
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D057225:Data Mining; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors