@entity1904 adds to diagnosis, but does not reduce initial antibiotics in febrile @entity1398 XXXX .

@entity1 @entity1904 @entity281 @entity1398 @entity1851
INTRODUCTION: The immune system is suppressed during chemotherapy. This makes diagnosis of severe life-threatening infections more difficult and it also intensifies the clinical course of such infections. Hence, empirical use of broad-spectrum antibiotics is mandatory. We investigated if @entity1904 (PCT) measurement may improve diagnostic accuracy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a prospective observational study, we included all admissions due to febrile episodes in a cohort of @entity1 below 16 years of age. PCT and @entity1851 ( @entity1851 ) were analyzed using LUMI test and VITROS @entity1851 slides, respectively. RESULTS: We recorded 230 febrile episodes in 85 @entity1 . Severe @entity281 was found in 61 (27%) of these episodes. PCT performed better than @entity1851 (p value  <= 0.01). The discriminative power of PCT was significant already from admission. For @entity1851 , discriminative power was significant after 48 hours. The cut-offs for PCT and @entity1851 were 0.4 ng/ml and 336 nmol/ml to achieve sensitivities of 93%. The specificities for PCT and @entity1851 were 45% and 22%, respectively. @entity281 @entity1 were not found, either by PCT or by @entity1851 in four (7%) cases. PCT levels rose in response to infection in the @entity1398 population. CONCLUSION: PCT measurement considerably improves biochemical information; however, the sensitivity is too low to safely alter the recommended administration of empirical antibiotics at admission.
