Abstract
Approximately 60,000 patients are hospitalised annually due to chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia (FN) in the United States alone. Febrile neutropenia is primarily managed by antibiotics and granulocyte-colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs). However, there are inconsistent recommendations regarding dose, frequency, and duration for G-CSF therapy. We conducted this study to assess the use of G-CSFs in a community-based teaching hospital in compliance with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines.
We retrospectively reviewed medical records of adult patients diagnosed with non-myeloid malignancies who received filgrastim in a community-based teaching hospital from November 2014 to April 2015.
Of 90 patients, 77% received filgrastim for FN treatment, 19% for primary prophylaxis, and 4% for secondary prophylaxis. The dose of filgrastim was appropriate in 93% of patients, while 7% received a sub-optimal dose without the worsening of their clinical outcomes. We could not assess the duration of therapy for 38 patients who either died or were discharged before achieving the desired absolute neutrophil count (ANC). Of the 69 patients treated for FN, only 33% received filgrastim until they achieved the ANC goal (1,500–8,000/μL), while 36% continued to receive filgrastim treatment beyond the desired ANC goal.
In our study, filgrastim was correctly prescribed; however, the ANC goal was not achieved in 47% of the patients. If the recommended ANC range had been targeted, a minimum of 28 doses could have been potentially avoided. This approach would have saved approximately $56,000. Therefore, future protocols should focus on pharmacist-led interventions to optimise G-CSF usage.