Daily vs every other day administration of G-CSF following autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation: a prospective randomized study.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether every other day administration of G-CSF was as safe and efficient as daily administration of G-CSF on neutrophil engraftment following autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation (APSCT). Duration of G-CSF administration, incidence of blood stream infections, duration of febrile neutropenia, duration of non-prophylactic antibiotic therapy, transfusion requirements, duration of hospitalization and G-CSF costs were also studied. Forty-seven patients with diagnosis of lymphoma and multiple myeloma undergoing APSCT were randomized to receive post-transplant daily or every other day G-CSF therapy both beginning on day +1. Both groups were comparable with regard to patient characteristics. There was no significant difference in time to neutrophil engraftment (p=0.31). The duration of G-CSF administration was significantly less in the every other day group (p<0.001). There were no detectable differences seen in the number of febrile days, duration of non-prophylactic antibiotics, the incidence of blood stream infections, transfusion requirements and the duration of hospitalization. There was a trend towards a faster platelet recovery in the every other day group, although the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.059). The number of doses of G-CSF used per transplant is significantly reduced, resulting in a significant reduction in drug costs.