Mortality, length of stay, and health care costs of febrile neutropenia-related hospitalizations among patients with breast cancer in the United States

Abstract

Febrile neutropenia-related hospitalizations continue to account for significant morbidity, mortality, and health care resource utilization among patients with breast cancer. Further efforts should be focused on curtailing the rising health care costs without compromising the quality of care.

The impact of chemotherapy dose intensity and supportive care on the risk of febrile neutropenia in patients with early stage breast cancer: a prospective cohort study

“…Among the toxicities, chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, especially febrile neutropenia (FN), is considered to be a major adverse event frequently requiring hospitalization (Weycker et al 2014 ; Kreys et al 2014 ). It has not only negative effects on treatment schedule but is often connected with considerable morbidity, high risk of infection-related early mortality, and an increased treatment cost (Hendricks et al 2011 ; Klastersky and Paesmans 2011 ; Kuderer et al 2006 ; Lee et al 2015 ; Pathak et al 2015 ). Patients have the highest risk of neutropenic events at the beginning of treatment, with 50–75% of initial events happening in the first cycle of chemotherapy (Crawford et al 2008 ; Vogel et al 2005 ; Timmer-Bonte and Tjan-Heijnen 2006 ; Gomez et al 1998 ).…”

The assessment and management of chemotherapy-related toxicities in patients with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas: A scoping review

“…This finding is likely due to the inclusion criteria which focused exclusively on the symptom management and self-care strategies for FN and infection in patients diagnosed with BC, CRC, NHL, or HL. Most likely reflecting the potentially life threatening nature of infection in patients with cancer (Pathak et al, 2015), a number of CPGs/EBRs address FN and infection. Symptom protocols were developed by the clinical sites and, in the main, the guidance across all of these guidelines and protocols is consistent for both the assessment and management of patients presenting with FN/suspected neutropenic sepsis.…”

The impending financial healthcare burden and ethical dilemma of systemic therapy in metastatic cancer

“…A large retrospective study identified 26,628 hospitalizations with febrile neutropenia among breast cancer patients from 2009 to 2011. Mean length of hospital stay was 5.7 days and the mean cost of hospitalization was found to be $37,087 [16]. Therefore, it is imperative to prevent neutropenia from both a clinical and economic perspective.…”