Outpatient Febrile Neutropenia Management

Febrile neutropenia is a medical emergency that requires immediate evaluation and empirical antibiotics. Although many patients require hospitalization, some patients may be candidates for outpatient therapy. The 2018 joint guidelines of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America provide guidance for the outpatient management of fever and neutropenia in adult patients treated for malignancy. Patients who are identified as low-risk based on clinical criteria and/or a validated scoring system can be treated empirically with an oral fluoroquinolone and amoxicillin-clavulanate. These patients should be continuously monitored and may need to be reevaluated for hospitalization.