Low socioeconomic status is associated with prolonged times to assessment and treatment, sepsis and infectious death in pediatric fever in El Salvador.

Background: Infection remains the most common cause of death from toxicity in children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Rapid administration of antibiotics when fever develops can prevent progression to sepsis and shock, and serves as an important indicator of the quality of care in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. We analyzed factors associated with (1) Longer times from fever onset to hospital presentation/antibiotic treatment and (2) Sepsis and infection-related mortality.

Microbiology and mortality of pediatric febrile neutropenia in El Salvador.

Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) and infection-related mortality are major problems for children with cancer in low-income countries. Identifying predictors for adverse outcome of FN in low-income countries permits targeted interventions. We describe the nature and predictors of microbiologically documented infection (MDI) and mortality of FN in children with cancer in El Salvador.

Predictors of outcome and methodological issues in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in El Salvador.

Background: Most children with cancer live in low-income countries (LICs) where risk factors in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) developed in high-income countries may not apply.

Methods: We describe predictors of survival for children in El Salvador with ALL. We included patients <16 years diagnosed with ALL between January 2001 and July 2007 treated with the El Salvador-Guatemala-Honduras II protocol.