| Author/Editor | Kitanovski, Lidija | |
| Title | Prokalcitonin in interlevkin-6 v zgodnji diagnostiki okužbe otrok s febrilno nevtropenijo | |
| Type | monografija | |
| Place | Ljubljana | |
| Publisher | Medicinska fakulteta | |
| Publication year | 2004 | |
| Volume | str. 75 | |
| Language | slo | |
| Abstract | Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is the most common complication of cancer treatment in children and the leading cause of the death after malignant disease. Early recognition of infection in neutropenic patients is difficult as it is usually manifested only as an elevated body temperature (BT) due to specificity of inflammatory response in these patients. More than half of febrile neutropenic episodes remain etiologically unexplained and only one third of them are microbiologically confirmed. Due to frequent bacterial infections and higher possibility of severe course of infection in neutropenic patients unique approach to the management of patients with FN has been established throughout the years. All patients receive empirical antibiotic therapy, which probably results in over treatment. Finding of perfect parameter of bacterial infection, especially severe one, would maybe results in abandoning antimicrobial treatment in some of febrile neutropenic patients and enables home treatment with oral antibiotics in low risk patients. The aim of the study was to determine whether prokalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are more sensitive and specific markers of severe infection in patients with FN than routinely used CRP and to find out whether sequential determination of PCT and IL-6 up to 72 hours improves their diagnostic value. We were also interested at correlation between BT, inflammatory parameters and number of neutrophil leucocytes/monocytes and at PCT and IL-6 concentrations in grampositive and gramnegative bacteraemias. We wondered whether malignant disease alone increases blood concentration of PCT and IL-6. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters) | |
| Descriptors | NEUTROPENIA SEPSIS BACTEREMIA CALCITONIN INTERLEUKIN-6 CHILD FEVER C-REACTIVE PROTEIN NEOPLASMS INFLAMMATION MEDIATORS LEUKOCYTE COUNT NEUTROPHILS MONOCYTES FEVER OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY |