CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2018; 39(02): 188-192
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_95_17
Original Article

Infections during Induction Chemotherapy in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia – Profile and Outcomes: Experience from a Cancer Center in South India

Binitha Rajeswari
Division of Pediatric Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India
,
Reghu K Sukumaran Nair
Division of Pediatric Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India
,
C S Guruprasad
Division of Pediatric Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India
,
Manjusha Nair
Division of Pediatric Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India
,
Priyakumari Thankamony
Division of Pediatric Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India
,
Kusumakumary Parukutty
Division of Pediatric Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India
› Author Affiliations
Financial support and sponsorship Nil.

Abstract

Objective:The objective of this study is to describe the incidence, clinical, laboratory and microbiological profile, treatment, and outcome of infections during induction chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Materials and Methods: This was prospective, observational study. All children aged 1–14 years, newly diagnosed to have ALL and attending the Pediatric oncology division at our center were included. Induction chemotherapy was administered as per a modified Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster protocol. The study period was from January 2014 to June 2015. Results: Two hundred and twenty-seven patients with ALL were included in the study. One hundred and fifty episodes of infection occurred among 117 patients. Major sites of infection were lung (n = 35) and gastrointestinal tract (n = 30). Blood cultures were positive in 45 episodes (30.6%) with Gram negative organisms being the predominant isolates. The most common organisms isolated were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella spp. The response to antibiotics was good with only 18% of episodes requiring a third-line antibiotic. One hundred and thirty-six (90.6%) episodes resolved without sequelae. Overall induction mortality (12 out of 227-5.3%) was mainly accounted for by infections. Conclusions: Infections are the major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with ALL on induction chemotherapy. The outcomes are good for the majority of patients if they receive adequate antibiotics early in the course of infection.



Publication History

Article published online:
23 June 2021

© 2018. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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