Improving Time to Antibiotics for Pediatric Oncology Patients With Fever and Suspected Neutropenia by Applying Lean Principles.

Background: Fever in the setting of neutropenia is a potentially life-threatening complication of cancer treatment. A time of less than 60 minutes from presentation to antibiotic administration is therefore recommended.

Objective: To use Lean Six Sigma methodology, a quality improvement initiative, to improve time to antibiotics (TTA) for children with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia presenting to the emergency department.