Razan Odeh - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Razan Odeh
BMC Women's Health, Mar 20, 2023
Background Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common type and represents a burden in all ... more Background Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common type and represents a burden in all countries. Treatment satisfaction might be a predictor for adherence, as higher satisfaction with medication encourages patients to adhere appropriately to the medication and, consequently, successfully achieve the treatment goals. The present study evaluated the adherence of women with hormone-positive breast cancer to oral hormonal drugs and correlated it with treatment satisfaction and other sociodemographic and clinical factors. Methods A cross-sectional design was applied. This study included two cancer centers. Data were collected from patients through face-to-face interviews and medical record reviews. The Medication Adherence Scale was adapted to assess medication adherence, and the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) version 1.4 was adopted to measure treatment satisfaction. Results The final analysis included 106 patients, with a mean age ± SD of 51.9 ± 1.2. Approximately 35% were hospitalized in the past year. Current hormonal therapy among cancer patients included letrozole (38.7%), tamoxifen (31.1%), exemestane (17%), and anastrozole (13.2%). The median adherence score was 5.0 [4.8-6.0], and 62.3% adhered fully to their oral hormonal drugs in the past week. The median scores of effectiveness, side effects, convenience, and global satisfaction were 66.67 [61.11.0-72.22], 75.00 [48.44-100.00], 66.67 [66.67-72.22], and 71.43 [57.14-78.57], respectively. A significantly lower adherence score was identified in patients living in camps (p = 0.020). Patients with comorbidities and those who continued on the same hormonal therapy had higher adherence scores, although they were not statistically significant. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that two domains of treatment satisfaction, side effects (p = 0.013) and global satisfaction (p = 0.018), were predictors of adherence to oral hormonal drugs. Conclusions The current study revealed a significant association between treatment satisfaction and adherence to oral hormonal therapy. We recommend creating a specialized scale to measure adherence, considering the psychosocial factors that affect hormonal anticancer medication adherence.
BMC Women's Health
Background Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common type and represents a burden in all ... more Background Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common type and represents a burden in all countries. Treatment satisfaction might be a predictor for adherence, as higher satisfaction with medication encourages patients to adhere appropriately to the medication and, consequently, successfully achieve the treatment goals. The present study evaluated the adherence of women with hormone-positive breast cancer to oral hormonal drugs and correlated it with treatment satisfaction and other sociodemographic and clinical factors. Methods A cross-sectional design was applied. This study included two cancer centers. Data were collected from patients through face-to-face interviews and medical record reviews. The Medication Adherence Scale was adapted to assess medication adherence, and the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) version 1.4 was adopted to measure treatment satisfaction. Results The final analysis included 106 patients, with a mean age ± SD of 51.9 ± 1...
Proceedings of the 2022 5th International Conference on Digital Medicine and Image Processing
The idea of an integrated nuclear medicine unit consisting of a PET-CT scanner with a practical s... more The idea of an integrated nuclear medicine unit consisting of a PET-CT scanner with a practical source of radioisotopes such as a cyclotron to operate efficiently in Palestinian health system is almost impossible due to several reasons, mainly political and financial issues. The goal of this study is to find a safe, valid, and widely available modality as an alternative to help oncologists and patients; we proposed a whole-body diffusion MRI protocol (WB-DWI MRI) A 33 oncological patients, 60% male (n = 20) and 40% female (n = 13), age 18-74 years with a mean age of 48 years old participated in our study for a PET-CT and WB-DWI MRI scan. Participants already diagnosed to have primary tumors including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin's lymphoma, endometrial cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, thyroid cancer, idiopathic pathological fractures and skin lesions suspected to be melanoma. Our results shows that PET-CT demonstrated 181 hypermetabolic lesion distributed in the four zones (head-neck, chest, abdomen-pelvis and musculoskeletal), was detected by WB-DWI This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.
Palestinian Medical and Pharmaceutical Journal
In late December 2019, a cluster of atypical pneumonia cases was noticed in Wuhan, China, which w... more In late December 2019, a cluster of atypical pneumonia cases was noticed in Wuhan, China, which was later identified as an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‚Äê19). Since then, it has spread globally, causing public health emergency and urgency, and declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). As of 1 April 2020, the data shows more than 200 countries and territories have been affected, with more than 824,000 confirmed cases and 41,000 deaths. Across the globe, many cancer patients visit the hospital and clinics for treatment and investigations. A large number of this population are immunocom-promised, either due to their underlying disease or cancer treatments which put them at higher risk for infection and complications. In addition, several risk factors have been identified that increase the risk and severity of infection with COVID-19, and cancer patients commonly have many of them. Recently, a large retrospective study among cancer patients infected with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, found a higher incidence of severe events in cancer patients compared to patients without cancer. As doctors working amid this pandemic, we all have responsibilities and duties to act upon local guidelines to ensure the continuation of essential cancer services without overwhelming the health care system. In this review, we addressed the potential challenges and possible actions for clinicians to manage cancer patients during this unusual time.
BMC Infectious Diseases
Background Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a life-threatening complication that predisposes cancer pa... more Background Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a life-threatening complication that predisposes cancer patients to serious infections. This study aims to describe the epidemiology and source of infection in cancer patients with FN in a tertiary care hospital. Methods A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted in a large tertiary care hospital from January 2020 to December 2021. Data on cancer patients with FN were collected from the hospital information system. Results 150 cancer patients with FN were identified during the study period. Most patients were males (98; 65.3%), and the mean age of participants was 42.2 ± 16.0 years. Most patients (127; 84.7%) had hematologic malignancies, and acute myeloid leukemia was the most common diagnosis (42; 28%), followed by acute lymphocytic leukemia (28; 18.7%) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (20; 13.3%). Fifty-four (36%) patients had a median Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) scores greater than 21. Regarding the outcome...
American Journal of Case Reports, 2022
Rare disease Background: Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of lymphoid neoplasm characterized by the pre... more Rare disease Background: Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of lymphoid neoplasm characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells in histopathology. It presents with swollen lymph nodes, and in advanced cases, it can involve bone marrow. Isolated and primary involvement of Hodgkin lymphoma in bone marrow is a very rare presentation, especially in an HIV-negative patient, and has a high mortality rate, even with appropriate management. Case Report: A 36-year-old male patient presented with a 6-month history of chills, night sweats, and generalized weakness. Laboratory investigations showed pancytopenia. A peripheral blood smear was unremarkable. A bone marrow biopsy revealed Reed-Sternberg cells, consistent with Hodgkin lymphoma. Further imaging did not show any lymphadenopathy, and the spleen was normal. Therefore, primary bone marrow Hodgkin lymphoma was diagnosed at stage IV, with an International Prognostic Score of 5 potential unfavorable factors. He was started on conventional chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma and received the first cycle of ABVD (adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) during his hospitalization. Meanwhile, he had fever without focus, and was managed empirically by broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment (piperacillin-tazobactam). Hospitalization lasted for 2 weeks. He continued to receive other cycles as an outpatient, with good clinical response. The patient remained in complete remission after 2 years. Conclusions: Isolated Hodgkin lymphoma of bone marrow is a very rare scenario, especially in HIV-negative patients, with no established management for patients. Here, we report a patient successfully treated with a conventional chemotherapy protocol for Hodgkin lymphoma.
Background: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common histologic subtype of non-Ho... more Background: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common histologic subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Secondary involvement of the heart is seen late in advanced cases and it is uncommon for DLBCL to present as a cardiac mass.Case Presentation: A 26-year-old female patient presented with progressive shortness of breath, facial swelling, and lower limb swelling. Echocardiography showed a large right atrial mass that was obstructing the tricuspid valve. Computed topography (CT) scan confirmed the findings and a large mediastinal mass with a filling defect in the right atrium occluding the distal Superior Vena Cava was identified. Histopathology showed DLBCL. She received 6 cycles R-CHOP chemotherapy (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) with good response and complete resolution of the mass.Conclusions: DLBCL can present with atypical, uncommon sites as the first presentation, such as the heart. Early diagnosis and appropriate management is ...
Cancer Management and Research, 2021
Purpose: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is a potentially curable or controllable dise... more Purpose: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is a potentially curable or controllable disease if strict adherence to a surveillance protocol is followed. Management and surveillance of NMIBC begins at the time of diagnosis up to a few years thereafter. There is scanty data in the literature evaluating the impact of non-compliance with the surveillance protocols on progression, recurrence, and mortality rate. Patients and Methods: An observational, retrospective cohort study recruited data between 2012 and 2017 at two tertiary hospitals. Data were collected consecutively. NMIBC patients who had at least 3 years of follow-up data were included. Patients were divided into different groups based on their compliance with the cystoscopy follow-up protocol as recommended by the European guidelines. We compared the cystoscopy compliant group with the non-compliant group in view of recurrence, progression, and mortality. In addition, missing variable items during surveillance were calculated using a new scoring model to predict adverse outcomes. Results: Eighty-eight NMIBC patients met our criteria. Recurrence rate (RR), progression rate (PR), metastasis rate (MsR), and mortality rate (MR) are significantly higher in non-compliant group, RR: (92.6%) (P<0.001), PR: (54.1%) (P<0.001), MsR: (37.7%) (P<0.001), MR: (23.5%) (P= 0.002) respectively. In the subgroup analysis, intermediate and high-risk groups have a PR rate of zero in the compliant group, while it is 100% (P<0.001) and 56.4% (P=0.001) in the noncompliant group, respectively. Use of a Kaplan Meier (KM) graph shows that compliant patients had a better survival in comparison to non-compliant patients. Scoring there or more is statistically and clinically significantly associated with higher recurrence, progression, and mortality. RR: (94%) (P=0.016), PR: 49% (P<0.001) and MR (26%) (P=0.012). Conclusion: Non-compliance to a standardized surveillance protocol in NMIBC is associated statistically and clinically with adverse outcomes in comparison to a compliant group. This mandates strict adherence to surveillance guidelines particularly in patients with highrisk disease.
Background Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a life-threatening complication that predisposes cancer pa... more Background Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a life-threatening complication that predisposes cancer patients to serious infections. This study aims to describe the epidemiology and source of infection in cancer patients with FN in a tertiary care hospital. Methods A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted in a large tertiary care hospital from January 2020 to December 2021. Data on cancer patients with FN were collected from the hospital information system. Results 150 cancer patients with FN were identified during the study period. Most patients were males (98; 65.3%), and the mean age of participants was 42.2 ± 16.0 years. Most patients (127; 84.7%) had hematologic malignancies, and acute myeloid leukemia was the most common diagnosis (42; 28%), followed by acute lymphocytic leukemia (28; 18.7%) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (20; 13.3%). Fifty-four (36%) patients had a median Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) scores greater than 21. Regarding the outcome, nine (6%) died, and 141(94%) were discharged. The focus of fever was unknown in most patients (108; 72%). Among the known origins of fever were colitis (12; 8%), pneumonia (8; 5.3%), cellulitis (6; 4%), bloodstream infections (7; 4.6%), perianal abscess (2; 1.3%) and others. The median duration of fever was two days, and the median duration of neutropenia was seven days. Sixtythree (42%) patients had infections: 56 (73.3%) were bacterial, four (2.6%) were viral, two (1%) were fungal and 1 (0.7%) was parasitic. Among the bacterial causes, 50 cases (89.2%) were culture-positive. Among the culture-positive cases, 34 (68%) were gram-positive and 22 (44%) were gram-negative. The most frequent gram-positive bacteria were E. faecalis (9; 18% of culture-positive cases), and the most frequent gram-negative organisms were Klebsiella pneumoniae (5; 10%). Levofloxacin was the most commonly used prophylactic antibiotic (23; 15.33%), followed by acyclovir (1610.7%) and fluconazole in 15 patients (10%). Amikacin was the most popular empiric therapy, followed by piperacillin/tazobactam (74; 49.3%), ceftazidime (70; 46.7%), and vancomycin (63; 42%). One-third of E. faecalis isolates were resistant to ampicillin. Approximately two-thirds of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were resistant to piperacillin/tazobactam and ceftazidime. Amikacin resistance was proven in 20% of isolates.
BMC Women's Health, Mar 20, 2023
Background Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common type and represents a burden in all ... more Background Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common type and represents a burden in all countries. Treatment satisfaction might be a predictor for adherence, as higher satisfaction with medication encourages patients to adhere appropriately to the medication and, consequently, successfully achieve the treatment goals. The present study evaluated the adherence of women with hormone-positive breast cancer to oral hormonal drugs and correlated it with treatment satisfaction and other sociodemographic and clinical factors. Methods A cross-sectional design was applied. This study included two cancer centers. Data were collected from patients through face-to-face interviews and medical record reviews. The Medication Adherence Scale was adapted to assess medication adherence, and the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) version 1.4 was adopted to measure treatment satisfaction. Results The final analysis included 106 patients, with a mean age ± SD of 51.9 ± 1.2. Approximately 35% were hospitalized in the past year. Current hormonal therapy among cancer patients included letrozole (38.7%), tamoxifen (31.1%), exemestane (17%), and anastrozole (13.2%). The median adherence score was 5.0 [4.8-6.0], and 62.3% adhered fully to their oral hormonal drugs in the past week. The median scores of effectiveness, side effects, convenience, and global satisfaction were 66.67 [61.11.0-72.22], 75.00 [48.44-100.00], 66.67 [66.67-72.22], and 71.43 [57.14-78.57], respectively. A significantly lower adherence score was identified in patients living in camps (p = 0.020). Patients with comorbidities and those who continued on the same hormonal therapy had higher adherence scores, although they were not statistically significant. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that two domains of treatment satisfaction, side effects (p = 0.013) and global satisfaction (p = 0.018), were predictors of adherence to oral hormonal drugs. Conclusions The current study revealed a significant association between treatment satisfaction and adherence to oral hormonal therapy. We recommend creating a specialized scale to measure adherence, considering the psychosocial factors that affect hormonal anticancer medication adherence.
BMC Women's Health
Background Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common type and represents a burden in all ... more Background Hormone-positive breast cancer is the most common type and represents a burden in all countries. Treatment satisfaction might be a predictor for adherence, as higher satisfaction with medication encourages patients to adhere appropriately to the medication and, consequently, successfully achieve the treatment goals. The present study evaluated the adherence of women with hormone-positive breast cancer to oral hormonal drugs and correlated it with treatment satisfaction and other sociodemographic and clinical factors. Methods A cross-sectional design was applied. This study included two cancer centers. Data were collected from patients through face-to-face interviews and medical record reviews. The Medication Adherence Scale was adapted to assess medication adherence, and the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) version 1.4 was adopted to measure treatment satisfaction. Results The final analysis included 106 patients, with a mean age ± SD of 51.9 ± 1...
Proceedings of the 2022 5th International Conference on Digital Medicine and Image Processing
The idea of an integrated nuclear medicine unit consisting of a PET-CT scanner with a practical s... more The idea of an integrated nuclear medicine unit consisting of a PET-CT scanner with a practical source of radioisotopes such as a cyclotron to operate efficiently in Palestinian health system is almost impossible due to several reasons, mainly political and financial issues. The goal of this study is to find a safe, valid, and widely available modality as an alternative to help oncologists and patients; we proposed a whole-body diffusion MRI protocol (WB-DWI MRI) A 33 oncological patients, 60% male (n = 20) and 40% female (n = 13), age 18-74 years with a mean age of 48 years old participated in our study for a PET-CT and WB-DWI MRI scan. Participants already diagnosed to have primary tumors including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin's lymphoma, endometrial cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, thyroid cancer, idiopathic pathological fractures and skin lesions suspected to be melanoma. Our results shows that PET-CT demonstrated 181 hypermetabolic lesion distributed in the four zones (head-neck, chest, abdomen-pelvis and musculoskeletal), was detected by WB-DWI This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.
Palestinian Medical and Pharmaceutical Journal
In late December 2019, a cluster of atypical pneumonia cases was noticed in Wuhan, China, which w... more In late December 2019, a cluster of atypical pneumonia cases was noticed in Wuhan, China, which was later identified as an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‚Äê19). Since then, it has spread globally, causing public health emergency and urgency, and declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). As of 1 April 2020, the data shows more than 200 countries and territories have been affected, with more than 824,000 confirmed cases and 41,000 deaths. Across the globe, many cancer patients visit the hospital and clinics for treatment and investigations. A large number of this population are immunocom-promised, either due to their underlying disease or cancer treatments which put them at higher risk for infection and complications. In addition, several risk factors have been identified that increase the risk and severity of infection with COVID-19, and cancer patients commonly have many of them. Recently, a large retrospective study among cancer patients infected with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, found a higher incidence of severe events in cancer patients compared to patients without cancer. As doctors working amid this pandemic, we all have responsibilities and duties to act upon local guidelines to ensure the continuation of essential cancer services without overwhelming the health care system. In this review, we addressed the potential challenges and possible actions for clinicians to manage cancer patients during this unusual time.
BMC Infectious Diseases
Background Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a life-threatening complication that predisposes cancer pa... more Background Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a life-threatening complication that predisposes cancer patients to serious infections. This study aims to describe the epidemiology and source of infection in cancer patients with FN in a tertiary care hospital. Methods A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted in a large tertiary care hospital from January 2020 to December 2021. Data on cancer patients with FN were collected from the hospital information system. Results 150 cancer patients with FN were identified during the study period. Most patients were males (98; 65.3%), and the mean age of participants was 42.2 ± 16.0 years. Most patients (127; 84.7%) had hematologic malignancies, and acute myeloid leukemia was the most common diagnosis (42; 28%), followed by acute lymphocytic leukemia (28; 18.7%) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (20; 13.3%). Fifty-four (36%) patients had a median Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) scores greater than 21. Regarding the outcome...
American Journal of Case Reports, 2022
Rare disease Background: Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of lymphoid neoplasm characterized by the pre... more Rare disease Background: Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of lymphoid neoplasm characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells in histopathology. It presents with swollen lymph nodes, and in advanced cases, it can involve bone marrow. Isolated and primary involvement of Hodgkin lymphoma in bone marrow is a very rare presentation, especially in an HIV-negative patient, and has a high mortality rate, even with appropriate management. Case Report: A 36-year-old male patient presented with a 6-month history of chills, night sweats, and generalized weakness. Laboratory investigations showed pancytopenia. A peripheral blood smear was unremarkable. A bone marrow biopsy revealed Reed-Sternberg cells, consistent with Hodgkin lymphoma. Further imaging did not show any lymphadenopathy, and the spleen was normal. Therefore, primary bone marrow Hodgkin lymphoma was diagnosed at stage IV, with an International Prognostic Score of 5 potential unfavorable factors. He was started on conventional chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma and received the first cycle of ABVD (adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) during his hospitalization. Meanwhile, he had fever without focus, and was managed empirically by broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment (piperacillin-tazobactam). Hospitalization lasted for 2 weeks. He continued to receive other cycles as an outpatient, with good clinical response. The patient remained in complete remission after 2 years. Conclusions: Isolated Hodgkin lymphoma of bone marrow is a very rare scenario, especially in HIV-negative patients, with no established management for patients. Here, we report a patient successfully treated with a conventional chemotherapy protocol for Hodgkin lymphoma.
Background: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common histologic subtype of non-Ho... more Background: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common histologic subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Secondary involvement of the heart is seen late in advanced cases and it is uncommon for DLBCL to present as a cardiac mass.Case Presentation: A 26-year-old female patient presented with progressive shortness of breath, facial swelling, and lower limb swelling. Echocardiography showed a large right atrial mass that was obstructing the tricuspid valve. Computed topography (CT) scan confirmed the findings and a large mediastinal mass with a filling defect in the right atrium occluding the distal Superior Vena Cava was identified. Histopathology showed DLBCL. She received 6 cycles R-CHOP chemotherapy (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) with good response and complete resolution of the mass.Conclusions: DLBCL can present with atypical, uncommon sites as the first presentation, such as the heart. Early diagnosis and appropriate management is ...
Cancer Management and Research, 2021
Purpose: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is a potentially curable or controllable dise... more Purpose: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is a potentially curable or controllable disease if strict adherence to a surveillance protocol is followed. Management and surveillance of NMIBC begins at the time of diagnosis up to a few years thereafter. There is scanty data in the literature evaluating the impact of non-compliance with the surveillance protocols on progression, recurrence, and mortality rate. Patients and Methods: An observational, retrospective cohort study recruited data between 2012 and 2017 at two tertiary hospitals. Data were collected consecutively. NMIBC patients who had at least 3 years of follow-up data were included. Patients were divided into different groups based on their compliance with the cystoscopy follow-up protocol as recommended by the European guidelines. We compared the cystoscopy compliant group with the non-compliant group in view of recurrence, progression, and mortality. In addition, missing variable items during surveillance were calculated using a new scoring model to predict adverse outcomes. Results: Eighty-eight NMIBC patients met our criteria. Recurrence rate (RR), progression rate (PR), metastasis rate (MsR), and mortality rate (MR) are significantly higher in non-compliant group, RR: (92.6%) (P<0.001), PR: (54.1%) (P<0.001), MsR: (37.7%) (P<0.001), MR: (23.5%) (P= 0.002) respectively. In the subgroup analysis, intermediate and high-risk groups have a PR rate of zero in the compliant group, while it is 100% (P<0.001) and 56.4% (P=0.001) in the noncompliant group, respectively. Use of a Kaplan Meier (KM) graph shows that compliant patients had a better survival in comparison to non-compliant patients. Scoring there or more is statistically and clinically significantly associated with higher recurrence, progression, and mortality. RR: (94%) (P=0.016), PR: 49% (P<0.001) and MR (26%) (P=0.012). Conclusion: Non-compliance to a standardized surveillance protocol in NMIBC is associated statistically and clinically with adverse outcomes in comparison to a compliant group. This mandates strict adherence to surveillance guidelines particularly in patients with highrisk disease.
Background Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a life-threatening complication that predisposes cancer pa... more Background Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a life-threatening complication that predisposes cancer patients to serious infections. This study aims to describe the epidemiology and source of infection in cancer patients with FN in a tertiary care hospital. Methods A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted in a large tertiary care hospital from January 2020 to December 2021. Data on cancer patients with FN were collected from the hospital information system. Results 150 cancer patients with FN were identified during the study period. Most patients were males (98; 65.3%), and the mean age of participants was 42.2 ± 16.0 years. Most patients (127; 84.7%) had hematologic malignancies, and acute myeloid leukemia was the most common diagnosis (42; 28%), followed by acute lymphocytic leukemia (28; 18.7%) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (20; 13.3%). Fifty-four (36%) patients had a median Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) scores greater than 21. Regarding the outcome, nine (6%) died, and 141(94%) were discharged. The focus of fever was unknown in most patients (108; 72%). Among the known origins of fever were colitis (12; 8%), pneumonia (8; 5.3%), cellulitis (6; 4%), bloodstream infections (7; 4.6%), perianal abscess (2; 1.3%) and others. The median duration of fever was two days, and the median duration of neutropenia was seven days. Sixtythree (42%) patients had infections: 56 (73.3%) were bacterial, four (2.6%) were viral, two (1%) were fungal and 1 (0.7%) was parasitic. Among the bacterial causes, 50 cases (89.2%) were culture-positive. Among the culture-positive cases, 34 (68%) were gram-positive and 22 (44%) were gram-negative. The most frequent gram-positive bacteria were E. faecalis (9; 18% of culture-positive cases), and the most frequent gram-negative organisms were Klebsiella pneumoniae (5; 10%). Levofloxacin was the most commonly used prophylactic antibiotic (23; 15.33%), followed by acyclovir (1610.7%) and fluconazole in 15 patients (10%). Amikacin was the most popular empiric therapy, followed by piperacillin/tazobactam (74; 49.3%), ceftazidime (70; 46.7%), and vancomycin (63; 42%). One-third of E. faecalis isolates were resistant to ampicillin. Approximately two-thirds of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were resistant to piperacillin/tazobactam and ceftazidime. Amikacin resistance was proven in 20% of isolates.