The Efficacy of Mezlocillin-Amikacin Combination in Febrile Neutropenic Children with Oncologic Disease

Summary

The efficacy of mexlocillin-amikacin combination as empirical therapy for febrile neutropenic patients was studied in 30 children (21 males, 9 females) with various oncologic diseases aged 1-15 years (mean age 7.3±4.4) in the Istanbul Medical School, Oncologic Disease Research and Treatment Center, and Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology between January 1 and May 31, 1988.

The response rate was 76.6%. Profound persistent granulocytopenia (fewer than 100 ml) was present in 70% of the patients. In 63.3% of patients, the infections were microbiologically documented (60%) gram( + ) and 40% gram( - ).

The combination was well tolerated with hepatic and/or renal disturbances in 8 cases (26.6%). We conclude that mezlocillin-amikacin is an effective empirical combination in the initial treatment of infections in febrile neutropenic children with various oncologic diseases.

Key Words:

• mezlocillin
• amikacin
• infection in immunocompromised children