Management of infection in patients with acute leukemia.

Substantial improvements have occurred in the infectious diseases management of patients with acute leukemia. It is now unusual for patients receiving initial induction chemotherapy at a major center to die of infectious complications without receiving an adequate course of antineoplastic treatment. Many patients also receive reinduction chemotherapy with prolonged periods of neutropenia without succumbing to major infectious complications. However, the area of management of infections in patients with acute leukemia has remained a dynamic process, with infection management issues that remain complex and controversial.