A Comparative Study of Piperacillin-Tazobactam With and Without Vancomycin as Empirical Therapy for Febrile Neutropenic Patients With Solid Tumor Malignancies.

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcomes, mortality and toxicity associated with piperacillin-tazobactam (PT) and the addition of vancomycin (VM) to the empirical treatment of febrile neutropenic cancer patients.

Method: A retrospective study on adult febrile neutropenic patients who were admitted between September 2008 and May 2013 with solid tumor malignancies was conducted at King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Results: Out of 86 febrile neutropenic patients, 60 patients were treated with PT group and 26 patients were with PT + VM group.

Bacterial Spectrum, Isolation Sites and Susceptibility Patterns of Pathogens in Adult Febrile Neutropenic Cancer Patients at a Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Knowing local spectrum and sensitivity for bacterial isolates causing febrile neutropenia is important as starting an appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy is considered a medical emergency in these high-risk patients.

Methods: A retrospective study of a total of 106 microbiologically febrile episodes in hospitalized adult neutropenic cancer patients, who were admitted from May 2009 to May 2013, at King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, was conducted.

Results: Among 106 microbiologically documented febrile neutropenic episodes, the majority of malignancies were solid tumors accounting for 53.