Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Chemotherapy Induced Neutropenia And Increased Risk For Sepsis, Megan E. Moore-Weber

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Available treatment options for patients diagnosed with cancer include surgery, the administration of chemotherapeutic agents, radiation therapy, or a combination of these modalities. Chemotherapeutic agents utilized to treat cancer have a variety of potential side effects. One of the most common and well known side effects associated with the administration of chemotherapeutic agents is neutropenia. Neutropenia places oncology patients at an increased risk of contracting infections which may lead to a life threatening complication known as sepsis. Sepsis is an extremely dangerous oncologic emergency requiring prompt medical treatment. Failure to recognize symptoms associated with sepsis in the neutropenic patient and …