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. 2023 Sep 20;18(1):52.
doi: 10.1186/s13027-023-00533-8.

Prevalence of blood stream infections and associated factors among febrile neutropenic cancer patients on chemotherapy at Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Tanzania

Lambert C Safari  1   2   3 , Doreen Mloka  4 , Omary Minzi  5 , Nazima J Dharsee  6   7 , Rabson Reuben  7
Affiliations

Prevalence of blood stream infections and associated factors among febrile neutropenic cancer patients on chemotherapy at Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Tanzania

Lambert C Safari et al. Infect Agent Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Febrile Neutropenia (FN) caused by bacteria in cancer patients is associated with poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of FN and associated factors among cancer patients on chemotherapy at Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI), Tanzania.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to September 2019. Study participants were conveniently recruited. A desk review of participants medical records was performed. Standard microbiological procedures used to culture and identify the bacterial isolates from the positive blood cultures of participants that presented with FN. Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion was used to perform the antibiotics susceptibility testing. SPSS version 20.0 and MS Excel were used in data entry and analysis. Chi-Square was used as a measure of association between various factors and neutropenia. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total 213 participants were enrolled. Of these 76.1% were female. Most of the participants came from the Coast region. Majority of participants presented with breast Cancer (36.2%) and GIT (20.2%). The prevalence of FN and bacteremia was 5.6% and 35.3% respectively. Staphylococcus Aureus (60%) and Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (40%) were the main isolates. Of the 6 isolates tested most were resistant to Co-Trimoxazole 4/6 (66.7%) and Doxycycline 3/6 (50%). FN was positively associated with chemotherapy regimen (P = 0.0001), platelets count (P = 0.0001) and use of G-CSF (P = 0.0001).

Conclusion: The prevalence of FN among the cancer patients on chemotherapy in Tanzania is low but associated with drug-resistant bacteria.

Keywords: BSIs; Bacteremia; Cancer; Chemotherapy; FN; Febrile Neutropenia; ORCI; Susceptibility; Tanzania.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Regional distribution of study participants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Types of cancer among study participants. GIT: Gastro-Intestinal Tract; Gyn: Gynecological; Hemato: Hematological; GU: Genito-Urinary; H&N: Head &Neck; CNS: Central Nerve System
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Types of Chemotherapy agents used by study participants
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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