Comparison the efficacy of ceftazidime and imipenem in treatment of neutropenic febrile due to chemotherapy in cancer patients

In cancer patients various infections were developed due to severe neutropenia resulted from chemotherapy. There is controversy between initial monotherapy or multidrug prescription. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of ceftazidime and imipenem in control of fever in cancer patients with febrile neutropenia. Materials ands 40 patients with cancer, fever and neutropenia (PMN<500), without recognized source of infection, were selected using the convenience and consecutive method. Using a random sampling, twenty patients were treated with imipenem (500mg Iv/Q8hr) and others with ceftazidime (2mg Iv/Q8hr). The criteria for positive response to the drugs were: fever disappearance during maximally 72 hours lasted for up to 24 hours, and increased neutrophil counts more than 500/ml. Our results show that 60% and 55% patients with ceftazidime and imipenem were cured, respectively. 40% patients treated with ceftazidime and 45% patients treated with imipenem needed another antibiotic therapy at the same time. No significant relationship was found between different types of drug regime among the groups. Findings of this study indicate that ceftazidime and imipenem have similar efficacy in treatment of febrile neutropenic patients. Due to more availability and lower cost of ceftazidime than imipenem, ceftazidime is suggested as first line treatment in febrile neutropenia