ArticleBMJ paediatrics open2022
PAnTher Cub: procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for febrile neutropenia in children and young people with cancer - a single-arm pilot study.
Article in BMJ paediatrics open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for pediatrics with infective disease: A updated meta-analyses and trial sequential analysis.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Pooled it
- Dynamic procalcitonin-guided antibiotic stewardship among cancer patients in the UK.Journal of medical microbiology · 2026Article
- Role of biomarkers in pediatric sepsis: What evidence says?World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFebrile neutropenia (FN) is a common complication of cancer treatment in children and young people, and many episodes are over-treated. Procalcitonin, may be an appropriate tool to guide the stopping of antibiotics in those at low risk of serious bacterial infection. Supportive care trials in this population have proven to be difficult to undertake. This single-arm pilot study aimed to evaluate whether a study using a procalcitonin-guided stopping-rule for antibiotics in paediatric FN is possible.
methodsDaily procalcitonin levels were performed during episodes of FN and clear guidance given for antibiotic discontinuation. Episode data and quantitative feasibility data were collected alongside interviews with professionals and ethnographic observations. Analysis was descriptive.
resultsOf 32 patients and families approached, 28 patients consented, and 13 had febrile neutropenia. In total, 16 episodes were included in the study. All relevant FN episodes had data captured, with adequate data collection. There were no significant safety events. In 4/8 (50%) of episodes without clear microbiologically documented or clinical infection, antibiotics were reduced in duration or in spectrum. Interviews with professionals revealed the importance of the research, the value of key individuals in the study team, particular challenges of this protocol and suggestions for study improvements.
conclusionsStudies to evaluate procalcitonin-guided approaches to stopping antibiotics in paediatric FN are possible.
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Registered trials
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