title: Factors associated with hospital length of stay among cancer patients with febrile neutropenia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study sought to evaluate factors associated with hospital length of stay in cancer patients with febrile neutropenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective cohort study was performed at a single tertiary referral hospital in southern Brazil from October 2009 to August 2011. All adult cancer patients with febrile neutropenia admitted to the hematology ward were evaluated. Stepwise random-effects negative binomial regression was performed to identify risk factors for prolonged length of hospital stay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 307 cases of febrile neutropenia were evaluated. The overall median length of hospital stay was 16 days (interquartile range 18 days). According to multiple negative binomial regression analysis, hematologic neoplasms (P = 0.003), high-dose chemotherapy regimens (P<0.001), duration of neutropenia (P<0.001), and bloodstream infection involving Gram-negative multi-drug-resistant bacteria (P = 0.003) were positively associated with prolonged hospital length of stay in patients with febrile neutropenia. The condition index showed no evidence of multi-collinearity effect among the independent variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hematologic neoplasms, high-dose chemotherapy regimens, prolonged periods of neutropenia, and bloodstream infection with Gram-negative multi-drug-resistant bacteria are predictors of prolonged length hospital of stay among adult cancer patients with febrile neutropenia.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Regis G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciano Z
authors.initials: LZ
authors.lastname: Goldani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D064147:Febrile Neutropenia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis