Salvage tigecycline in high risk febrile neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies: a prospective multicenter study

The purpose of this prospective, multi-center study was to examine the efficacy and safety of tigecycline as empirical treatment in neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies who failed to respond to first-line antibiotics. A total of 125 patients with persistent fever (>72 h) despite first-line antibiotics received empirical treatment with tigecycline (loading dose of 100 mg, followed by 50 mg every 12 h). The use of other antimicrobial agents was not restricted. Treatment success rate was 68.0%. Subgroup analysis revealed a success rate of 73.1% in patients with pneumonia and 35.3% in patients with bacteremia. Toxicities were moderate with gastrointestinal symptoms being the main side effects. In conclusion, tigecycline-based antibacterial regimen was a justifiable empirical treatment in febrile neutropenic patients who failed to respond to first-line antibiotics except those with bacteremia. For patients with bacteremia, trials on higher-dose of tigecycline are needed.