Introduction
Focal and generalized head and neck lesions may occur in severely neutropenic patients following chemotherapy. Causes maybe multiple and include leukemia infiltration, hemorrhage, corticosteroid administration, and infection.[1,2] The most serious infection is from Pseudomonas aeruginosa,which remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in neutropenic patients. Nearly 47% of these infections are nosocomial.Leukemia patients in particular receive more intensive myelosuppressive chemotherapy, resulting in longer periods of neutropenia and more frequent hospitalizations for antibiotic therapy. Both of these conditions favor microbial colonization and risk of infection.[3] We report a neutropenic patient with facial cellulitis due to P. aeruginosa and a brief review of head and neck pathology in the setting of neutropenia.
Cancer Control. 2001;8(4) © 2001 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Inc.
© Copyright by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. All rights reserved.
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