Management of Neutropenic Fever in Persons with Cancer.

Neutropenic fever is a medical emergency that requires prompt evaluation. Neutropenic fever is defined as a single oral temperature ≥ 38.3⁰C (101.0⁰F) or a sustained temperature ≥ 38.0⁰C (101.0⁰F) for 1 hour and an absolute neutrophil count of less than 0.5 × 10⁹/L. The management of these patients includes initiation of broad-spectrum antibiotic within 1 hour of presentation. Lab work and blood cultures should be obtained prior to starting antibiotics and patients should be assessed for risk of serious complications of febrile neutropenia utilizing the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer or Clinical Index of Stable Febrile Neutropenia scoring system.