SynthesisFrontiers in microbiology2026
Early discontinuation vs. continuation of empirical antibiotics in patients with cancer and febrile neutropenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Frontiers in microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics are standard care for febrile neutropenia, but prolonged treatment until neutrophil recovery may increase antimicrobial resistance, toxicity, Methods: We systematically reviewed randomized controlled trials comparing early or short-course discontinuation of empirical antibacterial therapy with continuation until neutrophil recovery or an extended fixed course in patients with cancer and febrile neutropenia. MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception. Data were pooled using random-effects models. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool. Co-primary outcomes were days of antibiotic therapy and all-cause mortality. The review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261434782). Results: Fifteen trials involving 1,692 participants (1,679 contributing to the mortality analysis) were included. Early discontinuation reduced antibiotic exposure by a mean of 3.43 days (95% CI - 5.59 to -1.27; I Conclusion: In clinically stable, afebrile patients with cancer-related febrile neutropenia, early antibiotic discontinuation shortened antibiotic exposure, particularly in children, without a detectable increase in mortality or major infectious complications. Larger adult trials are needed to confirm safety. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261434782, CRD420261434782.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.