Infections in Hospitalized Cancer Patients

Abstract

Cancer patients are at an increased risk of developing infections that are primarily treatment-driven but may also be malignancy-driven.While cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, andsurgery have been known to improve malignancy morbidity and mortality,they also have the potential to weaken immune defenses andinduce periods of severe cytopenia. These adverse effects pave theway for opportunistic infections to complicate a hospitalized cancerpatient’s clinical course. Understanding the risk each patient inherentlyhas for developing a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection is criticalto choosing the correct prophylactic treatment in conjunction withtheir scheduled cancer therapy. This review discusses the most commontypes of infections found in hospitalized cancer patients as wellas the current guidelines for prophylactic and antimicrobial treatmentin cancer patients. In addition, it describes the interaction betweenantibiotics and cancer therapies for consideration when treating infectionin a cancer patient