cepia

<p><b>INTRODUCTION: </b>Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a severe complication of chemotherapy in terms of morbidity and mortality. Using data from the PMSI database, the objective of this work was to estimate the clinical burden caused by hospitalization for FN in France, assessed by number of patients, number of stays and hospital mortality.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>Using the PMSI database (which includes all hospitalizations occurring annually in France), an algorithm was used to select newly-diagnosed patients treated by chemotherapy in 2010/2011 who were hospitalized for FN within the 30 days following each administration of chemotherapy during their first year of treatment. The number, characteristics and comorbidities of patients were described, as well as the number and length of stay and mortality in hospitalized patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>In 2010-11, 10,229 patients were hospitalized for FN, representing a hospitalization rate of 7.4% in newly-diagnosed patients receiving chemotherapy. A total of 13,559 stays were identified, with an average duration of 6.3±8.7 days (median=4 days). A total of 720 deaths occurred during the hospital stays, corresponding to a mortality rate of 7%. Among patients hospitalized for FN, there were 14% of patients with diabetes, 8 % with heart failure, 34% with hypertension and 41% with at least one of these three comorbidities.</p><p><b>DISCUSSION: </b>With 10,299 hospitalized patients and 13,559 stays in 2010-11, the clinical burden induced by febrile neutropenia in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy is considerable.</p>