title: Preventing transmission of infectious agents in the pediatric in-patients hematology-oncology setting: what is the role for non-pharmacological prophylaxis?
abstract: The most intensive chemotherapy regimens were used in the past for leukemia patients who were the main focus of trials on infections; today there are increasing numbers of children with solid cancer and considerable risk of infection who do receive intensive standard-dose chemotherapy. Despite a continuous will to protect the immune-compromised child from infections, evidence-based indications for intervention by non-pharmacological tools is still lacking in the pediatric hematology-oncology literature. Guidelines on standard precautions as well as precautions to avoid transmission of specific infectious agents are available. As a result of a consensus discussion, the Italian Association for Pediatric Hematology-Oncology (AIEOP) Cooperative Group centers agree that for children treated with chemotherapy both of these approaches should be implemented and vigorously enforced, while additional policies, including strict environmental isolation, should be restricted to patients with selected clinical conditions or complications. We present here a study by the working group on infectious diseases of AIEOP.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Oncoematologia Pediatrica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Meyer, Firenze;
authors.forename: Désirée
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caselli
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cesaro
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Livadiotti
authors.forename: Ottavio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ziino
authors.forename: Olivia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Paolicchi
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zanazzo
authors.forename: Giuseppe M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Milano
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Licciardello
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barone
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cellini
authors.forename: De Santis
authors.initials: de S
authors.lastname: Raffaella
authors.forename: Mareva
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giacchino
authors.forename: Mario Renato
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aricò
authors.forename: Elio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castagnola