RESUMO
PURPOSE: Patients treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy are at risk of neutropenia, neutropenic fever and neutropenic sepsis. We hypothesised that pre-existing neutrophil function dysfunction may increase susceptibility to neutropenic fever in paediatric patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy. METHODS: Prospective cohort study recruited patients at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom. We measured neutrophil phagocytic function using a validated flow cytometric whole blood phagocytosis assay in paediatric patients (n = 16) with oncological disease before and after chemotherapy in a prospective cohort study. We recruited healthy children as a control comparator (n = 10). RESULTS: We found significantly decreased phagocytic function in oncology patients compared to healthy participants. In five patients who developed neutropenic fever, we observed increased pre-dose neutrophil respiratory burst. CONCLUSION: With further validation, measurement of neutrophil function could potentially be used to personalise appropriate prophylactic antimicrobial administration for patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy.