Challenges in the Management of Paediatric Febrile Neutropenia

Children undergoing treatment for malignancy have excellent survival rates which now approach 75%. In most cases, children who die following treatment for cancer do so of their disease, but despite huge improvements in supportive care, one in six of the deaths within 5 years of diagnosis are due to the complications of therapy. One such life-threatening complication remains infection, frequently presenting as the occurrence of fever with neutropenia. This paper explores the issues around prevention of febrile neutropenia and risk stratification of new episodes, reviews recent advances in the field of febrile neutropenia and highlights current research which may directly improve patient care.