Internal evaluation of risk stratification tool using procalcitonin and
clinical risk factors in pediatric febrile neutropenia: the first step
in a pilot quality improvement project
Abstract
Risk stratification of pediatric febrile neutropenia (FN) is an
established concept; the internal evaluation of a validated clinical
decision rules (CDR) tool has not been well-described. In this study,
restrictive criteria and procalcitonin were added to a recommended CDR
for internal evaluation before implementation. Analysis of 577 FN
episodes showed good sensitivity and negative predictive value in
predicting blood stream infections (87.3%; 95.6%) and intensive care
admissions (97.2%; 99.1%). There were no severe adverse events in
low-risk patients with low procalcitonin; procalcitonin identified 3
low-risk patients with serious bacterial infections. The modified CDR
with procalcitonin may assist in risk stratification.