ED diagnoses sites of infection in cancer patients with neutropenia, fever.

2004 SEP 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study from the University of Pennsylvania Hospital showed that focal sites of infection in patients with fever and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia diagnosed in the emergency room were consistent with the final discharge diagnosis.

"We sought to describe the common causes of infection in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with elevated temperature and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia and to determine the frequency with which the ED diagnosis of infection is consistent with the final hospital discharge diagnosis," wrote J. Perrone and colleagues.

"We performed a structured retrospective chart …