Divya Subburaj
Apollo Speciality Hospital, India
Title: Blood stream infections during induction chemotherapy in children with acute myeloid leukemia – Changing spectrum in developing countries
Biography
Biography: Divya Subburaj
Abstract
A total of fifty four children had received induction chemotherapy consisting of duanorubicin, cytarabine and etoposide as per the UKMRC AML induction protocol were included in the study. Forty seven episodes of febrile neutropenia were recorded. Thirty four percent had culture positive gram negative sepsis. Fifty five percent of the febrile neutropenic episodes were blood culture negative. Enterocolitis was the most common focus of infection in these children. Over the last 3 years (2012-2015) the incidence of gram negative sepsis had risen to 38% when compared to 24% during the 2003 to 2011 period. Though the mortality rates had remained the same in both groups, the morbidity rates which included duration of hospital stay, need for pediatric intensive care support, the use of colistin due to carbapenam resistant infections and the use of granulocyte transfusions to help tide over the sepsis had dramatically increased.