Annals of hematology
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Annals of hematology · May 2015
Association between early peak temperature and mortality in neutropenic sepsis.
Fever is often the first sign of neutropenic infection, but its prognostic impact has not been established. We aimed to determine whether early peak temperature is associated with mortality in patients with neutropenic sepsis admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). We used a database of admissions to 157 ICUs in Australia and New Zealand between 2005 and 2013 to seek an association between peak temperature within the first 24 h in ICU and in-hospital mortality in neutropenic and non-neutropenic sepsis. ⋯ In neutropenic sepsis patients admitted to ICU, a temperature below 36.5 °C is associated with increased mortality compared with normothermia. In contrast to non-neutropenic sepsis, fever was not associated with a significant reduction in mortality in neutropenic patients. Interventional studies are needed to determine whether physical or pharmacological measures to reduce fever influence outcomes during neutropenic infections.