Comparing Chemotherapy Recovery at Home versus in the Hospital for Children with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

    Ano de publicação: 2021

    Pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) requires multiple courses of intensive chemotherapy. Each course of chemotherapy destroys a child's white blood cells, called neutrophils, leaving the child in a state of neutropenia for 2 or more weeks. During neutropenia, the child is at significant risk for life-threatening infection; such toxicities can result in delays in starting the next course of chemotherapy and significant morbidity and mortality. Current supportive care guidelines recommend hospitalization after chemotherapy completion until neutrophil recovery. Although ~70% of US treatment centers adhere to this recommendation, there are little data to support inpatient over outpatient management during neutrophil recovery.