1[st] line antimicrobial therapy for febrile neutropenic cancer patients

Empiric antibiotic regimens used in febrile neutropenic patients often include an extended spectrum cephalosporin, but the response of therapy in Gram positive coccal bacteremia has been unsatisfactory, thus new antibiotic with better activity against Gram positive bacteria should be tested. Antipseudomonal penicillins including piperacillin are effective against many Gram positive and Gram negative organisms. The aim of this work is to compare combination therapy with piperacillin-tazobactam plus amikacin versus ceftazidime plus amikacin as first line in treatment of febrile neutropenic cancer patients. This study is a single center, prospective and randomized trial performed in pediatric branch wards, of the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University. All patients were subjected to full clinical and laboratory evaluation including microbiological study. Doses were given according to the International Antimicrobial Therapy Cooperative Group [IATCG] of the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC]. 164 febrile neutropenic episodes were enrolled on this study. 82 patients with 105 [64%] high risk febrile granulocytopenic episodes were considered eligible. 53 were treated with piperacillin-tazobactam plus amikacin [group A], and 52 were treated with ceftazidime plus amikacin [group B]. The overall success in group A was higher than group B, yet, the difference was statistically insignificant with a p value=0.2. Time of defervecence was significantly shorter in piperacillin-tazobactam group [p=0.001]. There was no infection related mortality in this study. Side effects were encountered in 3 [5.6%] cases receiving piperacillin-tazobactam in the form of mild skin reaction. 55.7% of positive cultures yielded Gram positive organisms. Staphylococcus species were the most common organism in both groups. Both Gram positive and negative organisms showed higher sensitivity to pipercillin-tazobactam compared to ceftazidime with a significant p value=0.05. Piperacillin-tazobactam is safe and more effective than ceftazidime in febrile neutropenia in pediatric cancer patients