The Nursing clinics of North America
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Multidisciplinary teams, therapeutic research, and large successful clinical trials have led to the exciting improved survival outlook in pediatric oncology. The development of sophisticated supportive care measures and the identification of significant prognostic variables within disease categories have dramatically altered the management and outcome for many children with cancer. ⋯ Research is ongoing on several fronts: to find innovative treatment approaches for children who currently have a poorer prognosis, to minimize or prevent acute and late toxicities by modifying treatment plans so less intensive treatment can be given to patients with a low risk of disease recurrence, and to increase our understanding of the epidemiology and etiology of childhood cancer. With the continued efforts of researchers in the laboratory and at the bedside, prevention of these catastrophic diseases may some day become a reality.
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Nurs. Clin. North Am. · Mar 1985
Symposium on infections in the compromised host. Significance of fever in the compromised host.
The febrile response is a normal, nonspecific manifestation of nearly all infectious disease processes. However, in the compromised host, this response is often diminished or absent, thus depriving the clinician of an important diagnostic indicator. This article describes various clinical entities that present with fever and outlines the therapeutic considerations used in patients with impaired defense mechanisms.