The Role of Inflammatory Indices in Predicting Infections and Guiding Treatment in Neutropenic Patients With Solid Tumors

This study explores the link between inflammatory markers and hospital outcomes in febrile neutropenic patients with solid cancers- a complication caused by systemic chemotherapy that can lead to hospitalization and requires timely diagnosis and treatment to reduce fatalities.

This study was conducted in 2017 at Vali-e-Asr Hospital in Birjand with 22 participants. Blood samples were collected to measure inflammatory indexes. The study documented various hospital outcomes, including duration of neutropenia and fever correction, length of hospital stays, ICU admission or mechanical ventilation, and mortality. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each marker.

According to the findings, there was no significant difference in the mean duration of neutropenia, the duration of fever, or the length of hospital stay comparing procalcitonin (PCT; P = 0.96, P = 0.36, P = 0.66, respectively), polymorphonuclears (PMNs; P = 0.11, P = 0.94, P = 0.52, respectively), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; P = 0.41, P = 0.24, P = 0.17, respectively). Further, the performance metrics calculated for PCT, ESR, and PMNs were an accuracy of 50%, 50%, and 40.90%, sensitivity of 88.8%, 100%, and 88.8%, specificity of 23.07%, 15.38%, and 7.6%, PPV of 44.4%, 45%, and 40%, and NPV of 75%, 100%, and 50%, respectively.

Our findings suggested that there was no significant relationship between inflammatory factors and hospital outcomes. However, further research is needed to explore the prognostic value of these markers in a larger and more diverse patient population.