Systematic review and meta-analysis of the value of initial biomarkers in predicting adverse outcome in febrile neutropenic episodes in children and young people with cancer

Diagnostic accuracy of interleukin-6 in multiple diseases: An umbrella review of meta-analyses

Objective

This review aims to conduct a comprehensive study of the diagnostic accuracy of interleukin-6 (IL-6) for multiple diseases by utilizing existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Methods

We performed a thorough search of Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews up to April 2023 to gather meta-analyses that investigate the diagnostic accuracy of IL-6. To assess the methodological quality of the studies, we employed the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews-2 and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria.

Results

We included 34 meta-analyses out of the 3024 articles retrieved from the search. These meta-analyses covered 9 categories of diseases of the International Classification of Diseases-11. Studies rated as "Critically Low" or "Very Low" in the quality assessment process were excluded, resulting in a total of 6 meta-analyses that encompassed sepsis, colorectal cancer, tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE), endometriosis, among others. Among these diseases, IL-6 demonstrated a relatively high diagnostic potential in accurately identifying TPE and endometriosis.

Conclusions

IL-6 exhibited favorable diagnostic accuracy across multiple diseases, suggesting its potential as a reliable diagnostic biomarker in the near future. Substantial evidence supported its high diagnostic accuracy, particularly in the cases of TPE and endometriosis.

Diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin in adult non-neutropenic cancer patients with suspected infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Procalcitonin (PCT) has garnered attention as a potential diagnostic biomarker for infection in cancer patients. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin (PCT) and to compare it with C-reactive protein (CRP) in adult non-neutropenic cancer patients with suspected infection.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to identify all relevant diagnostic accuracy studies. Original articles reporting the diagnostic accuracy of PCT for infection detection in adult patients with solid or hematological malignancies were included. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio, area under the hierarchical summary receiver operator characteristic (HSROC) curve, and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.

RESULTS

Seven studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of PCT were 60% (95% CI [45-74%]) and 78% (95% CI [69-86%]). The diagnostic odds ratio was estimated at 5.47 (95% CI [2.86-10.46]). Three studies compared the diagnostic accuracies of PCT and CRP. The pooled sensitivity and specificity values for PCT were 57% (95% CI [26-83%]) and 75% (95% CI [68-82%]), and those for CRP were 67% (95% CI [35-88%]) and 73% (95% CI [69-77%]). The pooled sensitivity and specificity of PCT and CRP did not differ significantly (p = 0.61 and p = 0.63). The diagnostic accuracy of PCT was similar to that of CRP as measured by the area under the HSROC curve (0.73, CI = 0.61-0.91 vs. 0.74, CI = 0.61-0.95, p = 0.93).

CONCLUSION

While elevated PCT levels can be indicative of potential infection, they should not be solely relied upon to exclude infection. We recommend not using the PCT test in isolation; Instead, it should be carefully interpreted in the context of clinical findings.

Markers of intestinal mucositis to predict blood stream infections at the onset of fever during treatment for childhood acute leukemia

Despite chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis being a main risk factor for blood stream infections (BSIs), no studies have investigated mucositis severity to predict BSI at fever onset during acute leukemia treatment. This study prospectively evaluated intestinal mucositis severity in 85 children with acute leukemia, representing 242 febrile episodes (122 with concurrent neutropenia) by measuring plasma levels of citrulline (reflecting enterocyte loss), regenerating islet-derived-protein 3α (REG3α, an intestinal antimicrobial peptide) and CCL20 (a mucosal immune regulatory chemokine) along with the general neutrophil chemo-attractants CXCL1 and CXCL8 at fever onset. BSI was documented in 14% of all febrile episodes and in 20% of the neutropenic febrile episodes. In age-, sex-, diagnosis- and neutrophil count-adjusted analyses, decreasing citrulline levels and increasing REG3α and CCL20 levels were independently associated with increased odds of BSI (OR = 1.6, 1.5 and 1.7 per halving/doubling, all p < 0.05). Additionally, higher CXCL1 and CXCL8 levels increased the odds of BSI (OR = 1.8 and 1.7 per doubling, all p < 0.0001). All three chemokines showed improved diagnostic accuracy compared to C-reactive protein and procalcitonin. These findings underline the importance of disrupted intestinal integrity as a main risk factor for BSI and suggest that objective markers for monitoring mucositis severity may help predicting BSI at fever onset.

The evolving value of older biomarkers in the clinical diagnosis of pediatric sepsis

Sepsis remains the leading cause of childhood mortality worldwide. The evolving definition of pediatric sepsis is extrapolated from adult studies. Although lacking formal validation in the pediatric population, this working definition has historically proven its clinical utility. Prompt identification of pediatric sepsis is challenging as clinical picture is often variable. Timely intervention is crucial for optimal outcome, thus biomarkers are utilized to aid in immediate, yet judicious, diagnosis of sepsis. Over time, their use in sepsis has expanded with discovery of newer biomarkers that include genomic bio-signatures. Despite recent scientific advances, there is no biomarker that can accurately diagnose sepsis. Furthermore, older biomarkers are readily available in most institutions while newer biomarkers are not. Hence, the latter's clinical value in pediatric sepsis remains theoretical. Albeit promising, scarce data on newer biomarkers have been extracted from research settings making their clinical value unclear. As interest in newer biomarkers continue to proliferate despite their ambiguous clinical use, the literature on older biomarkers in clinical settings continue to diminish. Thus, revisiting the evolving value of these earliest biomarkers in optimizing pediatric sepsis diagnosis is warranted. This review focuses on the four most readily available biomarkers to bedside clinicians in diagnosing pediatric sepsis. IMPACT: The definition of pediatric sepsis remains an extrapolation from adult studies. Older biomarkers that include C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, ferritin, and lactate are the most readily available biomarkers in most pediatric institutions to aid in the diagnosis of pediatric sepsis. Older biomarkers, although in varying levels of reliability, remain to be useful clinical adjuncts in the diagnosis of pediatric sepsis if used in the appropriate clinical context. C-reactive protein and procalcitonin are more sensitive and specific among these older biomarkers in diagnosing pediatric sepsis although evidence varies in different age groups and clinical scenarios.

Serum lactate is associated with increased illness severity in immunocompromised pediatric hematology oncology patients presenting to the emergency department with fever

Introduction

Determining which febrile pediatric hematology/oncology (PHO) patients will decompensate from severe infection is a significant challenge. Serum lactate is a well-established marker of illness severity in general adult and pediatric populations, however its utility in PHO patients is unclear given that chemotherapy, organ dysfunction, and cancer itself can alter lactate metabolism. In this retrospective analysis, we studied the association of initial serum lactate in febrile immunosuppressed PHO patients with illness severity, defined by the incidence of clinical deterioration events (CDE) and invasive bacterial infection (IBI) within 48 hours.

Methods

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were reported using initial lactate within two hours of arrival as the sole predictor for CDE and IBI within 48 hours. Using a generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach, the association of lactate with CDE and IBI within 48 hours was tested in univariate and multivariable analyses including covariates based on Quasi-likelihood under Independence Model Criterion (QIC). Additionally, the association of lactate with secondary outcomes (i.e., hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (PICU) admission, PICU LOS, non-invasive infection) was assessed.

Results

Among 897 encounters, 48 encounters had ≥1 CDE (5%), and 96 had ≥1 IBI (11%) within 48 hours. Elevated lactate was associated with increased CDE in univariate (OR 1.77, 95%CI: 1.48-2.12, p<0.001) and multivariable (OR 1.82, 95%CI: 1.43-2.32, p<0.001) analyses, longer hospitalization (OR 1.15, 95%CI: 1.07-1.24, p<0.001), increased PICU admission (OR 1.68, 95%CI: 1.41-2.0, p<0.001), and longer PICU LOS (OR 1.21, 95%CI: 1.04-1.4, p=0.01). Elevated lactate was associated with increased IBI in univariate (OR 1.40, 95%CI: 1.16-1.69, p<0.001) and multivariable (OR 1.49, 95%CI: 1.23-1.79, p<0.001) analyses. Lactate level was not significantly associated with increased odds of non-invasive infection (p=0.09). The QIC of the model was superior with lactate included for both CDE (305 vs. 325) and IBI (563 vs. 579).

Conclusions

These data demonstrated an independent association of elevated initial lactate level and increased illness severity in febrile PHO patients, suggesting that serum lactate could be incorporated into future risk stratification strategies for this population.

The ability of inflammatory markers to recognize infection in cancer patients with fever at admission

Infection is one of the main causes of death in cancer patients. Accurate identification of fever caused by infection could avoid unnecessary antibiotic treatment and hospitalization. This study evaluated the diagnostic value of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and other commonly used inflammatory markers in suspected infected adult cancer patients with fever, for better use of antibiotics. This research retrospective analyzed the clinical data of 102 adult cancer patients with fever and compared the serum levels of commonly used inflammatory markers for different fever reasons. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and logistic regression analyses were performed. In adult cancer patients with fever, the serum PCT, CRP, IL-6, and IL-10 levels of infected patients were significantly higher than uninfected patients (median 1.19 ng/ml vs 0.14 ng/ml, 93.11 mg/l vs 56.55 mg/l, 123.74 pg/ml vs 47.35 pg/ml, 8.74 pg/ml vs 3.22 pg/ml; Mann-Whitney p = 0.000, p = 0.009, p = 0.004, p = 0.000, respectively). The ROC area under the curve(AUC) was 0.769 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.681-0.857; p = 0.000) for PCT, 0.664 (95% CI 0.554-0.775; p = 0.009) for CRP, 0.681(95% CI 0.576-0.785; p = 0.004) for IL-6, and 0.731(95% CI 0.627-0.834; p = 0.000) for IL-10. PCT had specificity of 96.67% and positive predictive value (PPV) of 97.6%, when the cut-off value is set as 0.69 ng/ml. The serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels also had significant differences between the infected and uninfected cancer patients with advanced disease (median 128.92 pg/ml vs 36.40 pg/ml, 8.05 pg/ml vs 2.92 pg/ml; Mann-Whitney p = 0.003, p = 0.001, respectively). For the patients with neutropenia, IL-6 and IL-10 had higher AUC of 0.811 and 0.928, respectively. With a cut-off of 9.10 pg/ml, IL-10 had the highest sensitivity 83.33% and specificity 100%. In adult cancer patients, PCT had the best performance compared to CRP, IL-6, and IL-10 in differentiating infected from uninfected causes of fever, with high specificity and PPV. IL-6 and IL-10 might be useful in cancer patients with severe bloodstream infections and advanced disease. However, for patients with neutropenia, IL-10 might be more valuable than PCT in diagnosing infection.

Prospective cohort study of the predictive value of inflammatory biomarkers over clinical variables in children and young people with cancer presenting with fever and neutropenia

Introduction Fever during chemotherapy induced neutropenia is a common and potentially life-threatening complication of the treatment of childhood cancer. Predictions of poor outcome could be enhanced by incorporating serum biomarkers of inflammation at presentation and reassessment. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted of children under 18 years old, being treated for cancer or a cancer-like condition, who presented with fever (≥ 38.0°C) and neutropenia (neutrophil count < 0.5*10 9/L). Clinical features were recorded, along with three experimental inflammatory biomarkers: procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). Outcomes included serious medical complications (SMC): any infection related mortality, critical care and organ support, severe sepsis, septic shock, significant microbiologically defined infection, or radiologically confirmed pneumonia. Results Biomarker assessments were undertaken in 43 episodes of fever and neutropenia, from 31 patients aged between four months and 17 years old (median six years): 20 were female and 22 had acute leukaemia. Five episodes of SMC were noted. PCT, IL-6 and IL-8 had poor individual discriminatory ability (C-statistic 0.48 to 0.60) and did not add to the value of clinical risk stratification tools. Insufficient data were collected to formally assess the value of repeated assessments. Conclusions Incorporating serum biomarkers of inflammation at presentation of episodes of fever with neutropenia in childhood does not clearly improve risk stratification. The value of serial assessments requires further investigation.

Prospective cohort study of the predictive value of inflammatory biomarkers over clinical variables in children and young people with cancer presenting with fever and neutropenia

Introduction Fever during chemotherapy induced neutropenia is a common and potentially life-threatening complication of the treatment of childhood cancer. Predictions of poor outcome could be enhanced by incorporating serum biomarkers of inflammation at presentation and reassessment. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted of children under 18 years old, being treated for cancer or a cancer-like condition, who presented with fever (≥ 38.0°C) and neutropenia (neutrophil count < 0.5*10 9/L). Clinical features were recorded, along with three experimental inflammatory biomarkers: procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). Outcomes included serious medical complications (SMC): any infection related mortality, critical care and organ support, severe sepsis, septic shock, significant microbiologically defined infection, or radiologically confirmed pneumonia. Results Biomarker assessments were undertaken in 43 episodes of fever and neutropenia, from 31 patients aged between four months and 17 years old (median six years): 20 were female and 22 had acute leukaemia. Five episodes of SMC were noted. PCT, IL-6 and IL-8 had poor individual discriminatory ability (C-statistic 0.48 to 0.60) and did not add to the value of clinical risk stratification tools. Insufficient data were collected to formally assess the value of repeated assessments. Conclusions Incorporating serum biomarkers of inflammation at presentation of episodes of fever with neutropenia in childhood does not clearly improve risk stratification. Repeated assessments over time may be of value.

Procalcitonin and Interleukin-10 May Assist in Early Prediction of Bacteraemia in Children With Cancer and Febrile Neutropenia

Objectives

Febrile neutropenia (FN) causes treatment disruption and unplanned hospitalization in children with cancer. Serum biomarkers are infrequently used to stratify these patients into high or low risk for serious infection. This study investigated plasma abundance of cytokines in children with FN and their ability to predict bacteraemia.

Methods

Thirty-three plasma cytokines, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) were measured using ELISA assays in samples taken at FN presentation (n = 79) and within 8–24 h (Day 2; n = 31). Optimal thresholds for prediction of bacteraemia were identified and the predictive ability of biomarkers in addition to routinely available clinical variables was assessed.

Results

The median age of included FN episodes was 6.0 years and eight (10%) had a bacteraemia. On presentation, elevated PCT, IL-10 and Mip1-beta were significantly associated with bacteraemia, while CRP, IL-6 and IL-8 were not. The combination of PCT (≥0.425 ng/ml) and IL-10 (≥4.37 pg/ml) had a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 68.8–100%) and specificity of 89% (95% CI 80.0–95.0%) for prediction of bacteraemia, correctly identifying all eight bacteraemia episodes and classifying 16 FN episodes as high-risk. There was limited additive benefit of incorporating clinical variables to this model. On Day 2, there was an 11-fold increase in PCT in episodes with a bacteraemia which was significantly higher than that observed in the non-bacteraemia episodes.

Conclusion

Elevated PCT and IL-10 accurately identified all bacteraemia episodes in our FN cohort and may enhance the early risk stratification process in this population. Prospective validation and implementation is required to determine the impact on health service utilisation.

Optimising Antimicrobial Selection and Duration in the Treatment of Febrile Neutropenia in Children

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a frequent complication of cancer treatment in children. Owing to the potential for overwhelming bacterial sepsis, the recognition and management of FN requires rapid implementation of evidenced-based management protocols. Treatment paradigms have progressed from hospitalisation with broad spectrum antibiotics for all patients, through to risk adapted approaches to management. Such risk adapted approaches aim to provide safe care through incorporating antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) principles such as implementation of comprehensive clinical pathways incorporating de-escalation strategies with the imperative to reduce hospital stay and antibiotic exposure where possible in order to improve patient experience, reduce costs and diminish the risk of nosocomial infection. This review summarises the principles of risk stratification in FN, the current key considerations for optimising empiric antimicrobial selection including knowledge of antimicrobial resistance patterns and emerging technologies for rapid diagnosis of specific infections and summarises existing evidence on time to treatment, investigations required and duration of treatment. To aid treating physicians we suggest the key features based on current evidence that should be part of any FN management guideline and highlight areas for future research. The focus is on treatment of bacterial infections although fungal and viral infections are also important in this patient group.

The clinical outcomes and biomarker features of severe sepsis/septic shock with severe neutropenia: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Severe sepsis/septic shock with severe neutropenia often leads to poor prognosis. However, it is unknown if severe neutropenia is associated with different clinical outcomes and biomarker features in severe sepsis/septic patients.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study enrolled 141 severe sepsis/septic shock patients admitted to intensive care unit of Shanghai Children's Medical Center between January 2015 and November 2019. Patients were followed up for the development of ventilation support, the use of vasoactive drugs, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) procedure, and mortality. Biomarkers that reflect the level of inflammation in severe sepsis/septic shock patients with neutropenia were compared to that in patients without neutropenia.

RESULTS

Of 141 patients enrolled, 54 patients suffered from severe sepsis/septic shock with severe neutropenia. In patients with severe sepsis/septic shock, severe neutropenia as a complication was an independent risk factor for the use of vasoactive drugs (RR 9.796; 95% CI: 3.774, 25.429; P<0.001), but not for ventilation support (RR 0.157; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.414; P<0.001), CRRT procedure (RR 1.032; 95% CI: 0.359, 2.969; P=0.953) or 28-day mortality (RR 1.405; 95% CI: 0.533, 3.708; P=0.492). Severe sepsis/septic patients with severe neutropenia had a higher plasma level of the following biomarkers: c-reaction protein (CRP) (180.5 vs. 121 mg/mL, P<0.001), procalcitonin (PCT) (12.15 vs. 2.7 ng/mL; P=0.005), interleukin (IL)-6 (316.83 vs. 55.77 pg/mL, P<0.001), IL-10 (39.165 vs. 10.09 pg/mL, P<0.001), interferon (IFN)-γ (6.155 vs. 3.71 pg/mL, P=0.016), and the percentage of regulatory T cells (Tregs) (2.7% vs. 2.09%, P=0.003). Based on the receiver operating characteristic curves, IL-10 exhibited high specificity (79.4%) in evaluating the prognosis of septic patients with neutropenia.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with severe sepsis/septic shock, being complicated with severe neutropenia is associated with higher proportion of using vasoactive drugs, and those patients tend to have higher plasma levels of IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ and percentage of Treg.

Short-course antibiotics for chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropaenia: retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Recent research in febrile neutropaenia (FN) has focused on reducing the intensity of treatment for those thought to be at low risk of significant morbidity or mortality. This has not led to a reduced burden of treatment for either families or healthcare systems. An alternative approach is to discharge all patients who remain well after 48 hours of inpatient treatment, either with no ongoing treatment or with appropriate antibiotics if the cultures are positive. This paper aimed to demonstrate that this approach is safe.

METHODS

Patients treated according to this approach in a single centre were reviewed retrospectively, with a random selection of patients from a 4-year period. Data were collected according to the Predicting Infectious Complications of Neutropenic sepsis in Children with Cancer dataset. In addition, all septic deaths over a 10-year period were reviewed in the same manner.

RESULTS

179 episodes of FN were reviewed from 47 patients. In 70% (125/179) of episodes, patients were discharged safely once 48-hour microbiology results were available, with only 5.6% (7/125) resulting in readmission in the 48 hours following discharge. There were no septic deaths in this cohort.There were 11 deaths due to FN over the 10-year study period. Almost all patients were identified as severely unwell in the early stages of their final presentation or had a prolonged final illness.

CONCLUSION

This paper indicates that the policy described provides a balance between safety and acceptability. Further work is needed to demonstrate non-inferiority and cost-benefit.

Pro-inflammatory cytokine ratios determine the clinical course of febrile neutropenia in children receiving chemotherapy

Background

Febrile neutropenia is a common and serious complication during treatment of childhood cancer. Empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics are usually administered until neutrophil cell count recovery. It was the aim of this study to investigate cytokine profiles as potential biomarkers using in-vitro sepsis models to differentiate between distinct clinical courses of febrile neutropenia (FN).

Methods

We conducted an observational study in FN episodes of pediatric oncology patients. Courses of neutropenia were defined as severe in case of proven blood stream infection or clinical evidence of complicated infection. We collected blood samples at various time points from the onset of FN and stimulated ex vivo with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (SE) for 24 h. Twenty-seven cytokine levels were measured in the whole blood culture supernatants by a multiplex immunoassay system.

Results

Forty-seven FN episodes from 33 children were investigated. IL-8, IL-1β, and MCP-1 expression increased significantly over time. IL-8, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, MCP-1, and TNF-α showed significantly lower concentration in patients with a clinically severe course of the FN.

Conclusions

Distinct patterns of cytokine profiles seem to be able to determine infectious FN and to predict the severity of its clinical course. If these data can be verified in a multi-centre setting, this may finally lead to an individualized treatment strategy facilitating antibiotic stewardship in these patients.

Use of C-Reactive Protein and Ferritin Biomarkers in Daily Pediatric Practice

Recent pediatric clinical research has begun to focus on risk stratification tools using multibiomarker models. C-reactive protein (CRP) and ferriti biomarkers are widely available and used to varying degrees in daily practice, but there is no single source examining the evidence behind their use.We set out to summarize the evidence behind the use of CRP and ferritin biomarkers in pediatric practice and to begin development of a consensus for their future use for pediatricians.All the literature involving CRP and ferritin in pediatrics available on PubMed was surveyed. Research applicable to daily pediatric practice was summarized in the body of the article. Pediatric clinicians of various subspecialties contributed to the summary of the use of CRP and ferritin biomarkers in clinical practice in various disease processes. A clinical decision pathway is described, and evidence is summarized.CRP and ferritin biomarkers have diverse uses with various cutoff values in the literature, making their use in daily practice difficult. Elevation of these markers coincides with their significant elevation in uncontrolled inflammation.CRP and ferritin biomarkers are widely used in pediatrics. This review provides a resource summarizing evidence into a single source. There is sufficient evidence to indicate that these biomarkers of inflammation can be useful in guiding clinical decision making in specific clinical scenarios; however, further work is needed to improve their use in clinical practice.

Monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio is associated with the presence and size of thyroid nodule irrespective of the gender

Background

Systemic inflammation may be involved in the formation and progression of thyroid nodule (TN). The aim of this large-scale study was to investigate the association of several simple inflammatory markers with the presence and size of TN.

Methods

A total of 133,698 adults were included for the current analysis. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) were calculated. The logistic regression was used to explore the association of the four markers with the presence and size of TN.

Results

The prevalence of TN was 55.1% among females and 44% among males; 13% of women and 8% of men had non-micronodule. In women, MHR and PLR were significantly associated with the presence of TN and non-micronodule; in men, MHR and NLR were significantly associated with the presence of TN and non-micronodule.

Conclusions

As a low-cost, simple, and reproducible inflammatory marker, MHR is strongly associated with the presence and size of TN irrespective of the gender.

Updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the predictive value of serum biomarkers in the assessment and management of fever during neutropenia in children with cancer

Routinely measurable biomarkers as predictors for adverse outcomes in febrile neutropenia could improve management through risk stratification. This systematic review assesses the predictive role of biomarkers in identifying events such as bacteraemia, clinically documented infections, microbiologically documented infection, severe sepsis requiring intensive care or high dependency care and death. This review collates 8319 episodes from 4843 patients. C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and procalcitonin (PCT) consistently predict bacteraemia and severe sepsis; other outcomes have highly heterogeneous results. Performance of the biomarkers at admission using different thresholds demonstrates that PCT > 0.5 ng/mL offers the best compromise between sensitivity and specificity: sensitivity 0.67 (confidence interval [CI] 0.53-0.79) specificity 0.73 (CI 0.66-0.77). Seventeen studies describe the use of serial biomarkers, with PCT having the greatest discriminatory role. Biomarkers, potentially with serial measurements, may predict adverse outcomes in paediatric febrile neutropenia and their role in risk stratification is promising.

Blood Stream Infections and Antibiotic Utilization in Pediatric Leukemia Patients With Febrile Neutropenia

BACKGROUND

Frequent surveillance of bacterial pathogens responsible for microbiologically defined-blood stream infections (MD-BSI), and their respective antibiotic susceptibilities is central to tailoring empiric antibiotic therapy in febrile neutropenia (FN) episodes in pediatric patients with leukemia. The safety of deescalating antibiotic therapy in pediatric patients with leukemia and neutropenia is incompletely understood.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review of 194 FN episodes occurred between the years of 2013 and 2016 in 67 patients with leukemia. Clinical and microbiologic data were recorded.

RESULTS

MD-BSI occurred in 36 of 194 (18%) of FN episodes. Deescalation of empiric antibiotic therapy based on antibiotic susceptibilities was possible in 25 of 36 (69.4%) episodes. In those 25 episodes, where there was an opportunity to deescalate the antibiotic spectrum, it was clinically appropriate to do so in 19. Deescalation occurred in 9 (47.4%) of these episodes without complication. The remaining 10 patients received a median of 20 additional days of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy (range, 12 to 30 d).

CONCLUSIONS

In our small cohort of patients, deescalation of antibiotic therapy based on antimicrobial susceptibilities did not result in complication. Larger prospective studies are needed to address the safety of deescalating antibiotic therapy in this population.

Prognostic significance of pretreatment plasma D-dimer levels in patients with spinal chordoma: a retrospective cohort study

PURPOSE

Plasma D-dimer levels, a marker of hypercoagulation, have not only been used as an indicator for cascaded reaction in the coagulation process but are also reported to be an underlying biomarker in several types of cancers. This retrospective cohort study was designed to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative plasma D-dimer level in patients with spinal chordoma.

METHODS

We enrolled 224 patients who underwent surgery for spinal chordoma between 2002 and 2015 at Changzheng Orthopedic Oncology Center. Preoperative clinical parameters were recorded and evaluated by univariate and multivariate Cox regression models. The correlation between preoperative plasma D-dimer levels and survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

The optimal cutoff value of pretreatment D-dimer was 840 μg/L determined by X-tile. DFS (disease-free survival) was 64.7% and OS (overall survival) was 75% in the cohort. Multivariate Cox regression model identified D-dimer level as an independent prognostic factor of DFS and OS, as well as treatment history, preoperative Karnofsky Performance Scale, preoperative Frankel score, pathology classification and adjuvant radiotherapy (p < 0.05). In addition, D-dimer level may also be an effective supplement for defining tumor Enneking staging (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Higher pretreatment plasma D-dimer level was associated with a poor prognosis in chordoma and could be used as an independent prognostic factor for the survival of the patients with spinal chordoma. With supplementation of D-dimer level, Enneking stage may be more able to accurate stratify individualized risk and determine clinical management. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

Predictive value of PCT and IL-6 for bacterial infection in children with cancer and febrile neutropenia

Purpose

Only a third of children with cancer and febrile neutropenia (FN) have a proven bacterial infection; nevertheless, most children are hospitalized and treated with intravenous antibiotics. Several biomarkers have been proposed as predictive markers for bacterial infection in this population. We aimed to evaluate the role of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and procalcitonin (PCT) in diagnosing bacterial infection in children with cancer and FN.

Methods

The study population was derived from a prospective database (2006–2013, IL-8 study) comprising children with cancer who presented with FN. From stored plasma samples (taken at admission and/or at 12–24 h), we determined the PCT and IL-6 levels. Consequently, we explored their relation with the presence of bacterial infection (positive blood culture, radiologically documented infection or clinical bacterial focus). We predefined cutoff values at 60 ng/L for IL-6 and 0.25 ng/mL for PCT.

Results

Seventy-seven FN episodes in 55 children with cancer were included. In 18 episodes (23.4%), a bacterial infection was documented. Both at presentation and after 12–24 h, median values of IL-6 and PCT were significantly higher in patients with a bacterial infection compared to patients without a bacterial infection. With both biomarkers above cutoff values, sensitivity was 93% (with either one, this was even 100%). The identified group at low risk for bacterial infection comprised 41% of the population.

Conclusion

PCT and IL-6 are promising markers in identifying bacterial infection in children with cancer and FN. In a subsequent project, we will incorporate these biomarkers in a risk assessment model that we will test prospectively in a clinical trial.

A meta-analysis to assess usefulness of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic usage for decision making

Background & objectives:

Development of antibacterial resistance and its association with antibiotic overuse makes it necessary to identify a specific and sensitive biomarker for the diagnosis of bacterial infection and guiding antibiotic therapy. Procalcitonin (PCT), as a sepsis biomarker, may play a role in guiding antibiotics treatment in hospital settings. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to analyze the utility of PCT on various outcomes of interest in inpatients.

Methods:

Different databases were searched for randomized controlled trials comparing PCT-guided therapy with standard therapy in admitted patients with bacterial infections. Twenty six articles were found suitable for full text search and of these, 16 studies were considered finally for data extraction.

Results:

There were no significant differences found in total mortality [pooled odds ratio (OR) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89-1.22, P=0.63], 28-day mortality (pooled OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.80-1.19, P=0.79), need of Intensive Care Unit admission (OR=0.80, 95% CI 0.59-1.09, P=0.16) and duration of stay in hospital (pooled mean difference −0.01, 95% CI −0.50-0.49, P=0.98) between treatment and control groups. PCT-guided treatment significantly decreased the duration of antibiotic treatment (pooled mean difference −2.79, 95% CI −3.52-−2.06, P<0.00001).

Interpretation & conclusions:

PCT-guided therapy significantly decreased antibiotics exposure and thus treatment cost. However, the hard endpoints did not demonstrate any significant benefits, possibly due to low power to detect differences and/or the presence of comorbidities.

The risk of febrile neutropenia in breast cancer patients following adjuvant chemotherapy is predicted by the time course of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein by modelling

AIMS

Early identification of patients with febrile neutropenia (FN) is desirable for initiation of preventive treatment, such as with antibiotics. In this study, the time courses of two inflammation biomarkers, interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP), following adjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer, were characterized. The potential to predict development of FN by IL-6 and CRP, and other model-derived and clinical variables, was explored.

METHODS

The IL-6 and CRP time courses in cycles 1 and 4 of breast cancer treatment were described by turnover models where the probability for an elevated production following initiation of chemotherapy was estimated. Parametric time-to-event models were developed to describe FN occurrence to assess: (i) predictors available before chemotherapy is initiated; (ii) predictors available before FN occurs; and (iii) predictors available when FN occurs.

RESULTS

The IL-6 and CRP time courses were successfully characterized with peak IL-6 typically occurring 2 days prior to CRP peak. Of all evaluated variables the CRP time course was most closely associated with the occurrence of FN. Since the CRP peak typically occurred at the time of FN diagnosis it will, however, have limited value for identifying the need for preventive treatment. The time course of IL-6 was the predictor that could best forecast FN events. Of the variables available at baseline, age was the best, although in comparison a relatively weak, predictor.

CONCLUSIONS

The developed models add quantitative knowledge about IL-6 and CRP and their relationship to the development of FN. The study suggests that IL-6 may have potential as a clinical predictor of FN if monitored during myelosuppressive chemotherapy.

Prospective cohort study of procalcitonin levels in children with cancer presenting with febrile neutropenia

Background

Febrile neutropenia (FNP) causes significant morbidity and mortality in children undergoing treatment for cancer. The development of clinical decision rules to help stratify risks in paediatric FNP patients and the use of inflammatory biomarkers to identify high risk patients is an area of recent research. This study aimed to assess if procalcitonin (PCT) levels could be used to help diagnose or exclude severe infection in children with cancer who present with febrile neutropenia, both as a single measurement and in addition to previously developed clinical decision rules.

Methods

This prospective cohort study of a diagnostic test included patients between birth and 18 years old admitted with febrile neutropenia to the Paediatric Oncology and Haematology Ward in Leeds between 1^st October 2012 and 30^th September 2013. Each admission with FNP was treated as a separate episode. Blood was taken for a procalcitonin level at admission with routine investigations. ‘R’ was used for statistical analysis. Likelihood ratios were calculated and multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Forty-eight episodes from 27 patients were included. PCT >2 ng/dL was strongly associated with increased risk of severe infection (likelihood ratio of 26 [95% CI 3.5, 190]). The data suggests that the clinical decision rules are largely ineffective at risk stratification, frequently over-stating the risk of individual episodes. High procalcitonin levels on admission are correlated with a greatly increased risk of severe infection.

Conclusions

This study does not show a definitive benefit in using PCT in FNP though it supports further research on its use. The benefit of novel biomarkers has not been proven and before introducing new tests for patients it is important their benefit above existing features is proven, particularly due to the increasing importance of health economics.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-016-0766-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Asymptomatic C-reactive protein elevation in neutropenic children

BACKGROUND

Febrile neutropenia (FN) can be a life-threatening complication in children with malignancies. There is no standardized preventive treatment for childhood FN, and information on C-reactive protein (CRP) elevation in afebrile patients with neutropenia (CEAN) is limited. The aim of this study was therefore to identify the association between CEAN and FN onset, and evaluate the efficacy of broad-spectrum antibiotics for FN prophylaxis.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 22 consecutive pediatric patients with hematologic malignancies (acute myeloid leukemia, n = 2; acute lymphoid leukemia, n = 20) admitted to the present institution between 2006 and 2011. CEAN was defined as CRP elevation ≥0.05 mg/dL between the two most recent blood tests with no fever. We identified CEAN before FN onset, and assessed the efficacy of broad-spectrum antibiotics for FN prevention in CEAN. FN incidence within 48 h after CEAN detection was compared between prophylactic and non-prophylactic episodes.

RESULTS

CEAN was observed before FN onset in 20 (55.6%), of 36 FN episodes. Among the 95 analyzed CEAN episodes, broad-spectrum antibiotics had been used for 30 episodes (prophylactic episodes), whereas these antibiotics had not been used in 60 episodes (non-prophylactic episodes). Prophylactic episodes had a significantly lower FN incidence than non-prophylactic episodes (6.7% and 31%, respectively, P < 0.01) within 48 h after CEAN detection. Bacteremia was observed in three non-prophylactic episodes.

CONCLUSION

Patients with CEAN are at higher risk of FN, and physicians may consider the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics to prevent FN development.

Adrenomedullin--A New Marker in Febrile Neutropenia: Comparison With CRP and Procalcitonin

In this study, we aimed to determine serum adrenomedullin levels and compare them with levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT). Cancer patients aged 0-18 years who experienced febrile neutropenia attacks were included in the study. Adrenomedullin, CRP, and PCT were analyzed at admission, day 3, and days 7-10 later. Fifty episodes of febrile neutropenia that developed in 37 patients were analyzed in this study. The mean age of the patients was 7.5 ± 4.7 (1-18) years. The patients had leukemia (73%), solid tumors (19%), and lymphoma (8%). The percentages of the patients in the clinically documented infection (CDI), fever of unknown origin (FUO), sepsis, and microbiological documented infection (MDI) categories were 34%, 34%, 20%, and 12%, respectively. During the study period, four patients were lost. In the MDI group, adrenomedullin levels on day 3 were significantly higher than those in the CDI and FUO groups. PCT levels were significantly higher in the sepsis group than those in the CDI group at admission, day 3, and days 7-10. In the sepsis group, PCT levels on days 7-10 days were significantly higher than those in the sepsis group. PCT values from the deceased patients on days 7-10 were significantly higher than those from patients who survived. CRP levels did not differ significantly among the febrile neutropenia groups. First, in our study, adrenomedullin was used as a biomarker in the febrile neutropenia episodes of children with cancer. Among adrenomedullin, CRP, and PCT, procalcitonin demonstrates the highest correlation with the severity of infection.

Procalcitonin as a Marker of Bacteremia in Patients With Fever and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

BACKGROUND

Children undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) often present to the emergency department (ED) with a fever. They are at high risk of bacteremia secondary to being immunocompromised. Recent reports indicate that procalcitonin (PCT) is a useful marker of bacteremia in children.

OBJECTIVE

Our objective was to evaluate the clinical utility of PCT as a rapid marker of bacteremia in children with ALL presenting to the ED with a fever. In addition, we compared the results of PCT with white blood cell (WBC) count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP).

METHODS

Retrospective chart reviews were conducted of 492 patients with a total of 735 visits presenting to the ED from January 2009 to June 2012 with fever and a history of ALL where a PCT and a blood culture (BC) were obtained,. Positive BCs determined to be contaminants were excluded. The predictive powers of PCT, WBC, ESR, and CRP for bacteremia were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve with 95% confidence intervals (CI). In addition, each of the 4 markers were also examined in a logistic regression model as a potential predictor of the BC result.

RESULTS

A total of 735 PCT values were correlated with BC results. There were 76 (10.3%) true-positive BCs. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.729 (95% CI, 0.661-0.792) for PCT, 0.685 (95% CI, 0.531-0.823) for ESR, 0.622 (95% CI, 0.460-0.796) for CRP, and 0.567 (95% CI, 0.483-0.649) for WBC. When logistic regression was used, the transformation log PCT was significantly associated with BC result whereas each of the other 3 markers, after appropriate transformation to remove heavy skewness, was not significant (all P > 0.1). A doubling of PCT was associated with an odds ratio of 1.32 for positive BCs (95% CI, 1.15-1.53).

CONCLUSIONS

Procalcitonin value was significantly associated with positive BC (P < 0.0001). The diagnostic performance of PCT was better than the other markers of inflammation. Its use in the ED in a select population of patients may be of significant value in identifying bacteremia. This has the potential to lead to a decrease in unwarranted use of antibiotics, hospital length of stay, and health care expenditures.

Clinical research in febrile neutropenia in cancer patients: Past achievements and perspectives for the future

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. It can also be the reason for delaying or changing potentially effective treatments and generates substantial costs. It has been recognized for more than 50 years that empirical administration of broad spectrum antibiotics to patients with FN was associated with much improved outcomes; that has become a paradigm of management. Increase in the incidence of microorganisms resistant to many antibiotics represents a challenge for the empirical antimicrobial treatment and is a reason why antibiotics should not be used for the prevention of neutropenia. Prevention of neutropenia is best performed with the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs). Prophylactic administration of G-CSFs significantly reduces the risk of developing FN and consequently the complications linked to that condition; moreover, the administration of G-CSF is associated with few complications, most of which are not severe. The most common reason for not using G-CSF as a prophylaxis of FN is the relatively high cost. If FN occurs, in spite of prophylaxis, empirical therapy with broad spectrum antibiotics is mandatory. However it should be adjusted to the risk of complications as established by reliable predictive instruments such as the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer. Patients predicted at a low level of risk of serious complications, can generally be treated with orally administered antibiotics and as out-patients. Patients with a high risk of complications should be hospitalized and treated intravenously. A short period of time between the onset of FN and beginning of empirical therapy is crucial in those patients. Persisting fever in spite of antimicrobial therapy in neutropenic patients requires a special diagnostic attention, since invasive fungal infection is a possible cause for it and might require the use of empirical antifungal therapy.

Diagnostic value of levels of presepsin (soluble CD14-subtype) in febrile neutropenia in patients with hematological disorders

BACKGROUND

Whether presepsin (soluble CD14-subtype) is better than other markers including procalcitonin (PCT), has not been adequately investigated in febrile neutropenia (FN).

METHODS

We prospectively examined the utility of presepsin in FN in Cohort 1 (C1) and 2 (C2), between November 2010 and February 2012, and between November 2013 and January 2014, respectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate 1) the relative value of serum presepsin over serum PCT in C1, and 2) the relative value of plasma presepsin as compared with serum PCT, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 with frequent, repeated sampling in C2.

RESULTS

Seventy-nine FN episodes (C1, 75; C2, 4) were evaluable. In C1, when compared with control values, presepsin was significantly higher at onset of FN (P = 0.004), while PCT was not significantly higher (P = 0.54). The median value of serum presepsin within 72 h of onset of FN in subjects with fever of unknown origin, local infection, bacteremia and septic shock was 680 (reference 314) pg/ml, 763, 782 and 1359, respectively. In C2, the mean levels of plasma presepsin from onset of FN to 72 h were classified as negative in the two patients with no suspected site of infection, and those of the remaining two patients with clinically probable infections were positive (175, 131, 346 and 329 pg/ml, respectively). In contrast, the other markers did not discriminate between this two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In FN, presepsin may be an earlier and more sensitive indicator of bacterial infection than PCT.

Predicting microbiologically defined infection in febrile neutropenic episodes in children: global individual participant data multivariable meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Risk-stratified management of fever with neutropenia (FN), allows intensive management of high-risk cases and early discharge of low-risk cases. No single, internationally validated, prediction model of the risk of adverse outcomes exists for children and young people. An individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis was undertaken to devise one.

METHODS

The 'Predicting Infectious Complications in Children with Cancer' (PICNICC) collaboration was formed by parent representatives, international clinical and methodological experts. Univariable and multivariable analyses, using random effects logistic regression, were undertaken to derive and internally validate a risk-prediction model for outcomes of episodes of FN based on clinical and laboratory data at presentation.

RESULTS

Data came from 22 different study groups from 15 countries, of 5127 episodes of FN in 3504 patients. There were 1070 episodes in 616 patients from seven studies available for multivariable analysis. Univariable analyses showed associations with microbiologically defined infection (MDI) in many items, including higher temperature, lower white cell counts and acute myeloid leukaemia, but not age. Patients with osteosarcoma/Ewings sarcoma and those with more severe mucositis were associated with a decreased risk of MDI. The predictive model included: malignancy type, temperature, clinically 'severely unwell', haemoglobin, white cell count and absolute monocyte count. It showed moderate discrimination (AUROC 0.723, 95% confidence interval 0.711-0.759) and good calibration (calibration slope 0.95). The model was robust to bootstrap and cross-validation sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

This new prediction model for risk of MDI appears accurate. It requires prospective studies assessing implementation to assist clinicians and parents/patients in individualised decision making.

Efficiency of Fetuin-A and Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Infection in Patients with Febrile Seizure

Fetuin-A is a negative acute phase reactant, while procalcitonin is an indicator of severe bacterial infection. Diagnosis of bacterial infection in febrile seizure (FS) is important for choosing the most suitable treatment. In this study, serum fetuin-A was estimated, for the first time, in the inpatients with FS and compared with procalcitonin and blood culture tests.

A total of 60 children (28 male and 32 female) with FS in addition to 30 sex- and age-matched children participated in the study. Patients were classified according to sex, age, PCT level (high PCT>0.5ng/mL), C-reactive protein (CRP, positive >6mg/L), and according to the results of the blood culture.

Fetuin-A level decreased and PCT level increased in FS patients in comparison to those in the control group. These changes are significantly increased (p<0.05) in the positive CRP group compared with that of the negative CRP group. Kernel density estimation showed that procalcitonin is a better indicator of the infection in FS children than fetuin-A . Procalcitonin is more sensitive and specific than fetuin-A and when used together they produce 100% sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of bacterial infection in FS patients.

Fetuin-A is low in FS patients and can be used with procalcitonin in the diagnosis of bacterial infection in FS.

'I'm fishing really'--inflammatory marker testing in primary care: a qualitative study

Background

Inflammatory markers can be helpful as part of the diagnostic workup for specific diseases or for monitoring disease activity. A third use is as a screening and/or triage tool to differentiate between the presence or absence of disease. Most research into inflammatory markers looks at diagnosis of specific diseases and comes from secondary care. Qualitative studies to explore when and why clinicians use these tests in primary care are lacking.

Aim

To identify clinicians’ approaches to inflammatory marker testing in primary care.

Design and setting

Qualitative study with 26 GPs and nurse practitioners.

Method

Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured topic guide. Clinicians reviewed recent cases of inflammatory marker testing in their pathology inbox. Interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis was conducted by two of the authors.

Results

Clinicians are uncertain about the appropriate use of inflammatory markers and differ in their approach to testing patients with undifferentiated symptoms. Normal or significantly elevated inflammatory markers are seen as helpful, but mildly raised inflammatory markers in the context of non-specific symptoms are difficult to interpret. Clinicians describe a tension between not wanting to ‘miss anything’ and, on the other hand, being wary of picking up borderline abnormalities that can lead to cascades of further tests. Diagnostic uncertainty is a common reason for inflammatory marker testing, with the aim to reassure; however, paradoxically, inconclusive results can generate a cycle of uncertainty and anxiety.

Conclusion

Further research is needed to define when inflammatory marker testing is useful in primary care and how to interpret results.

Selected inflammatory markers in the diagnosis and monitoring of infections in children treated for hematological malignancies

Infections in children treated for hematological malignancies pose a direct threat to life and are one of the most common causes of treatment failure in this group of patients. Unequivocal diagnosis at the early stages of infection together with an appropriate and timely treatment may be often difficult due to poor manifestation and nonspecific clinical symptoms of the infection progress. Inflammatory markers make a useful diagnostic tool for this purpose. They significantly help to diagnose, monitor, stratify and predict the outcome in severe infections. This article describes selected biomarkers, both those commonly used in clinical practice, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin as well as less common like IL-6, IL-8 and moreover one promising novel marker – pentraxin 3. The authors emphasize their diagnostic value, clinical usefulness and significance in the treatment efficacy monitoring.

Core outcomes and definitions for pediatric fever and neutropenia research: a consensus statement from an international panel

BACKGROUND

There are no specific recommendations for the design and reporting of studies of children with fever and neutropenia (FN). As a result, there is marked heterogeneity in the variables and outcomes that are reported and new definitions continue to emerge. These inconsistencies hinder the ability of researchers and clinicians to compare, contrast and combine results. The objective was to achieve expert consensus on a core set of variables and outcomes that should be measured and reported, as a minimum, in pediatric FN studies.

PROCEDURE

The Delphi method was used to achieve consensus among an international group of clinicians, pharmacists, researchers, and patient representatives. Four surveys focusing on (i) the identification of a core set of variables and outcomes; and (ii) definitions of these variables and outcomes, were administered electronically. Consensus was predefined as more than 80% agreement on any statement.

RESULTS

There were forty-five survey participants and the response rate ranged between 84 and 96%. There was consensus on eight core variables and 10 core outcomes that should be collected and reported in all studies of children with FN. Consensus definitions were identified for all of the core outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Using the Delphi method, expert consensus on a set of core variables and outcomes, and their corresponding definitions, was achieved. These core sets represent the minimum that should be collected and reported in all studies of children with FN. This will promote collaboration and ensure consistency and comparability between studies.

Does procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, or interleukin-6 test have a role in the diagnosis of severe infection in patients with febrile neutropenia? A systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

The study aims to determine the usefulness of procalcitonin (PCT) and other blood markers for identification of bacterial infection among patients with febrile neutropenia (FN).

METHODS

The Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched for articles from 1966 to December 2012. We performed a search to identify articles that examined the diagnostic accuracy of PCT in patients with FN. Statistical analyses (fixed- or random-effect models) were conducted to summarize and calculate the sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Twenty-seven studies were included (1960 febrile episodes) for PCT analysis, 13 (1712 febrile episodes) for C-reactive protein (CRP) analysis, and five (314 febrile episodes) for interleukin (IL)-6 analysis. Increased PCT levels (odds ratio [OR] 11.5; 95 % CI 7.6 to 17.3), raised CRP levels (3.3; 2.7 to 4.2), and raised IL-6 levels (10.0; 5.5 to 18.0) were significantly associated with bacterial infection. Overall positive likelihood ratio was 5.49 (4.04-7.45) for PCT, 1.82 (1.42-2.33) for CRP, and 3.68 (2.41-5.60) for IL-6. Overall negative likelihood ratio was 0.40 (0.31-0.51) for PCT, 0.40 (0.26-0.61) for CRP, and 0.33 (0.23-0.46) for IL-6.

CONCLUSIONS

Of the three potentially useful markers, PCT had the best positive likelihood ratio and can be used to confirm the diagnosis of bacterial infections in patients with FN. Due to unacceptably high negative likelihood ratio, medical decision for stopping antibiotics based on PCT alone in this high-risk population may not be possible.

Procalcitonin: potential role in diagnosis and management of sepsis

Sepsis is an important cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. Early recognition and diagnosis are keys to achieving improved outcomes. Procalcitonin has been widely investigated as a potential biomarker for sepsis. Furthermore, management of sepsis and other infectious disease is becoming increasingly complicated by the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of pathogens. Good antibiotic governance is important in reducing the risk of the development of further antibiotic resistance. We reviewed the current literature on the use of procalcitonin in sepsis to determine whether it should be recommended for use in either of these roles. Procalcitonin should not be used as a stand-alone diagnostic test to rule-in or rule-out sepsis or bacterial infection, or for prognostication, in the absence of clinical judgment. Used as part of a clinical algorithm, however, it has been shown to reduce antibiotic prescribing in critical care environments and for respiratory tract infections.

Which decision rules meet methodological standards in children with febrile neutropenia? Results of a systematic review and analysis

BACKGROUND

Clinical decision rules (CDRs) have sought to identify the few children with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia (FN) really at risk of severe infection to reduce the invasive procedures and costs for those at low risk. Several reports have shown that most rules do not perform well enough to be clinically useful. Our objective was to analyze the derivation methods and validation procedures of these CDRs.

PROCEDURE

A systematic review using Medline, Ovid, Refdoc, and the Cochrane Library through December 2012 searched for all CDRs predicting the risk of severe infection and/or complications in children with chemotherapy-induced FN. Their methodological quality was analyzed by 17 criteria for deriving and validating a CDR identified in the literature. The criteria published by the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group were applied to the published validations of each CDR to assess their level of evidence.

RESULTS

The systematic research identified 612 articles and retained 12 that derived CDRs. Overall, the CDRs met a median of 65% of the methodological criteria. The criteria met least often were that the rule made clinical sense, or described the course of action, or that the variables and the CDR were reproducible. Only one CDR, developed in South America, met all methodological criteria and provided the highest level of evidence; unfortunately it was not reproducible in Europe.

CONCLUSION

Only one CDR developed for children with FN met all methodological standards and reached the highest level of evidence.

Management of febrile neutropenia in the era of bacterial resistance

Managing cancer patients with fever and neutropenia must be considered as a medical emergency since any delay in initiating appropriate empirical antibacterial therapy may result in high rates of mortality and morbidity. Emerging antibacterial resistance in bacterial pathogens infecting febrile neutropenic patients complicates management, and choosing the type of empirical antimicrobial therapy has become a challenge. To further complicate the decision process, not all neutropenic patients are in same category of susceptibility to develop severe infection. While low-risk patients may be treated with oral antibiotics in the outpatient setting, high-risk patients usually need to be admitted to hospital and receive parenteral broad-spectrum antibiotics until the neutrophil levels recover. These strategies have recently been addressed in two international guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the European Conference on Infections in Leukaemia (ECIL). This review gives a brief overview of current antimicrobial resistance problems and their effects in febrile neutropenic cancer patients by summarizing the suggestions from the IDSA and ECIL guidelines.

Use of procalcitonin for the prediction and treatment of acute bacterial infection in children

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Procalcitonin (PCT) is increasingly utilized to determine the presence of infection or to guide antibiotic therapy. This review will highlight the diagnostic and prognostic utility of serum PCT in children.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies endorse the use of serum PCT to detect invasive infection, to differentiate sepsis from noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and to guide antibiotic therapy. Typical values for maximal sensitivity and specificity are less than 0.5  ng/ml for noninfectious inflammation and greater than 2.0  ng/ml for bacterial sepsis. PCT appears to be a reliable indicator of infection. PCT has performed better than C-reactive protein in some settings, though pediatric comparative data are lacking. PCT may aid in diagnosing infection in challenging patient populations such as those with sickle cell disease, congenital heart defects, neutropenia, and indwelling central venous catheters. Antibiotic therapy tailored to serial PCT measurements may shorten the antibiotic exposure without increasing treatment failure.

SUMMARY

PCT is a reliable serum marker for determining the presence or absence of invasive bacterial infection and response to antibiotic therapy. Tailoring antibiotics to PCT levels may reduce the duration of therapy without increasing treatment failure, but more research is needed in children.

Intensive serial biomarker profiling for the prediction of neutropenic Fever in patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing chemotherapy: a pilot study

Neutropenic fever (NF) is a life-threatening complication of myelosuppressive chemotherapy in patients with hematologic malignancies and triggers the administration of broad-spectrum antimicrobials. The ability to accurately predict NF would permit initiation of antimicrobials earlier in the course of infection with the goal of decreasing morbid complications and progression to septic shock and death. Changes in the blood level of inflammatory biomarkers may precede the occurrence of NF. To identify potential biomarkers for the prediction of NF, we performed serial measurements of nine biomarkers [C-reactive protein (CRP), protein C, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1] using a multiplex ELISA array platform every 6-8 hours in patients undergoing myelosuppressive chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies. We found that the blood levels of IL-6 and CRP increased significantly 24 to 48 hours prior to the onset of fever. In addition, we showed that frequent biomarker monitoring is feasible using a bedside micro sample test device. The results of this pilot study suggest that serial monitoring of IL-6 and CRP levels using a bedside device may be useful in the prediction of NF. Prospective studies involving a larger cohort of patients to validate this observation are warranted. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01144793).

Biomarkers for sepsis

Bloodstream infections are a major concern because of high levels of antibiotic consumption and of the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance. Bacteraemia is identified in a small percentage of patients with signs and symptoms of sepsis. Biomarkers are widely used in clinical practice and they are useful for monitoring the infectious process. Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) have been most widely used, but even these have limited abilities to distinguish sepsis from other inflammatory conditions or to predict outcome. PCT has been used to guide empirical antibacterial therapy in patients with respiratory infections and help to determine if antibacterial therapy can be stopped. New biomarkers such as those in this review will discuss the major types of biomarkers of bloodstream infections/sepsis, including soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1), soluble urokinase-type plasminogen receptor (suPAR), proadrenomedullin (ProADM), and presepsin.

The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical Practice

Procalcitonin (PCT) has emerged as the most promising marker of infectious inflammation. This development is critical to the practicing doctor dealing with febrile patients with suspected sepsis. An ideal biomarker would provide data for early diagnosis, differentiation of bacterial from non-bacterial causes of inflammation and information about the clinical course and prognosis of the disease. PCT is an early biomarker that is present within 3 to 4 hours of the triggering infection. An undetectable PCT level would efficiently rule out systemic infection. PCT may also be viewed as a marker of resolving infection as it has a half-life of about 22 hours, and its blood level correlates with bacterial load. Thus, PCT may be used as a clinical tool for early diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic guide. Automated platforms with short assay times and service that is available 24 hours a day have enabled clinicians to obtain rapid reliable results for the early diagnosis and timely monitoring of appropriate pharmacotherapy. Clinicians should use PCT as an adjunct to clinical and other diagnostic criteria.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in malnourished children

BACKGROUND

Early recognition of bacterial infections is crucial for their proper management, but is particularly difficult in children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the accuracy of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) for diagnosing bacterial infections and assessing the prognosis of hospitalized children with SAM, and to determine the reliability of CRP and PCT rapid tests suitable for remote settings.

METHODS

From November 2007 to July 2008, we prospectively recruited 311 children aged 6 to 59 months hospitalized with SAM plus a medical complication in Maradi, Niger. Blood, urine, and stool cultures and chest radiography were performed systematically on admission. CRP and PCT were measured by rapid tests and by reference quantitative methods using frozen serum sent to a reference laboratory.

RESULTS

Median CRP and PCT levels were higher in children with bacteremia or pneumonia than in those with no proven bacterial infection (P < .002). However, both markers performed poorly in identifying invasive bacterial infection, with areas under the curve of 0.64 and 0.67 before and after excluding children with malaria, respectively. At a threshold of 40 mg/L, CRP was the best predictor of death (81% sensitivity, 58% specificity). Rapid test results were consistent with those from reference methods.

CONCLUSIONS

CRP and PCT are not sufficiently accurate for diagnosing invasive bacterial infections in this population of hospitalized children with complicated SAM. However, a rapid CRP test could be useful in these settings to identify children most at risk for dying.

An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the predictive value of serum biomarkers in the assessment of fever during neutropenia in children with cancer

BACKGROUND

Fever during neutropenia (FN) is a frequent and potentially life-threatening complication of the treatment of childhood cancer. The role of biomarkers in predicting morbidity and mortality associated with FN in children has been explored with varying results. This systematic review identified, critically appraised and synthesized information on the use of biomarkers for the prediction of outcome of FN in children/young adults, updating a review of initial assessment and adding further analysis of their value at reassessment.

METHODS

This review was conducted in accordance with the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination Methods, using 3 different random effects meta-analysis models.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven studies involving over 4689 episodes of FN in children were assessed, including an additional 13 studies investigating 18 biomarkers in 1670 FN episodes since the original review. Meta-analysis was possible for admission C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 in their ability to detect significant infection. Marked heterogeneity exists, precluding clear clinical interpretation of the results. Qualitative synthesis of the role of serial biomarkers suggests their predictive ability may be more pronounced at 24 to 48 hours compared with admission. Direct comparisons of the discriminatory power of admission values of PCT and CRP showed PCT generally had a better discriminatory estimate of serious infection than CRP.

CONCLUSIONS

There remains a paucity of robust and reproducible data on the use of biomarkers in prediction of serious infection in children with FN. Available evidence suggests PCT has better discriminatory ability than CRP and that the role of serial biomarkers warrants further study.

Diagnostic accuracy of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein for predicting bacteremia/clinical sepsis in children with febrile neutropenia: comparison with interleukin-6, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein

PURPOSE

In febrile neutropenia (FN), no reliable marker has been identified to discriminate between severe infection and other causes of fever early in the clinical course. Since lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) has proven to be an accurate biomarker of bacteremia/clinical sepsis in critically ill non-immunocompromised infants and children, we performed a prospective study to determine the diagnostic accuracy of LBP in children with FN.

METHODS

Concentrations of LBP, procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were prospectively measured on two consecutive days in 90 FN episodes experienced by 47 children. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed for each biomarker to predict bacteremia/clinical sepsis and severe sepsis.

RESULTS

Eighteen of the 90 episodes were classified as bacteremia/clinical sepsis. On both days 1 and 2, all biomarkers had a low to intermediate diagnostic accuracy for sepsis, and no significant differences were found between them (area under the curve (AUC) for LBP, 0.648 and 0.714; for PCT, 0.665 and 0.744; for IL-6, 0.775 and 0.775; and for CRP, 0.695 and 0.828). Comparison of their AUCs to the AUC of maximum body temperature on admission (AUC = 0.668) also failed to show any significant differences. In severe sepsis, however, the best diagnostic accuracies were found for IL-6 and PCT (AUC 0.892 and 0.752, respectively), and these were significantly higher than those for LBP (AUC 0.566) on admission.

CONCLUSIONS

On admission and 24 h later, the LBP concentration is less accurate for predicting bacteremia/clinical sepsis compared to IL-6, PCT, and CRP.