Aztreonam therapy in children with febrile neutropenia: a randomized trial of aztreonam plus flucloxacillin versus piperacillin plus gentamicin.

In a prospective, randomized trial in 100 febrile neutropenic children, aztreonam plus flucloxacillin was compared with piperacillin plus gentamicin. At the 72 h clinical assessment there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. However, in microbiologically documented infections there was a higher response rate in the piperacillin/gentamicin group (57%) than in the aztreonam/flucoxacillin group (41%). This was contributed to by the poorer Gram-positive cover of the aztreonam/flucloxacillin combination. In clinically documented infections and unexplained fevers the response rate of the two antibiotic regimens was identical. There were two deaths; one early death (in the piperacillin/gentamicin arm) and one late death. At the final assessment a successful outcome was obtained in the remaining patients. In the aztreonam/flucloxacillin group 75% of the episodes required modification compared with 59% in the piperacillin/gentamicin group.