• This guideline is intended for the use of antimicrobial agents in managing patients with cancer who experience chemotherapy-induced fever and neutropenia.

• Due to the previous iteration of this guideline in 2002, Department of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska have a developed a clearer definition of which populations of patients with cancer may benefit most from antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral prophylaxis.

• Categorizing neutropenic patients as being at high risk or low risk for infection according to presenting signs and symptoms, underlying cancer, type of therapy, and medical comorbidities has become essential to the treatment algorithm.

• Risk stratification is a recommended starting point for managing patients with fever and neutropenia. Clinical vigilance and immediate treatment for all patients who present with fever and neutropenia should be treated swiftly and broadly with antibiotics to treat both gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21205990?dopt=Abstract