Utility of routine nurse assessment of the risk of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia

Abstract

Evidence-based guidelines recommend that patients at high risk (≥ 20%) for febrile neutropenia (FN) should receive prophylactic colony-stimulating factors (Aapro et al., 2006; Kouroukis et al., 2008; National Comprehensive Cancer Network [NCCN], 2008; Smith et al., 2006). We studied the utility of having nurses routinely assess FN risk in new patients before the initiation of chemotherapy. Fifteen nurses used a standardized tool to evaluate FN risk in 150 patients. In 94% of patients studied, nurses detected risk factors that prompted interventions to reduce the incidence of FN. On final evaluation, 67% of nurses said the use of a standardized tool helped them to identify patients at risk for FN, and 73% planned to assess FN risk routinely. Thus, it is feasible and valuable for nurses to assess FN risk using a standardized checklist prior to the initiation of chemotherapy.