Incidence of infection in patients with acute myeloid leukemia receiving high-dose cytarabine consolidation

Infection risk during high-dose cytarabine (HiDAC) consolidation following induction therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is not well understood complicating decisions regarding antimicrobial prophylaxis during this period. We performed a retrospective chart review of adult patients with AML undergoing HiDAC consolidation between June 2016 and November 2021 at our institution. The primary endpoint was microbiologically confirmed infection within 30 days of HiDAC administration. This study included 111 patients who received a total of 264 cycles of HiDAC therapy. 36% of patients undergoing HiDAC consolidation had at least 1 infection over the course of their consolidation therapy. Infection complicated 18% of HiDAC cycles. The majority of infections were bacterial (81%), primarily caused by gram-negative organisms. Fluoroquinolone prophylaxis was associated with a lower hazard of bacterial infection (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.24, 0.88). However, 26% of bacterial infections broke through antibiotic therapy with multiple cases concerning for fluoroquinolone resistance. Viral and fungal infections were rare (14% and 3% of infections respectively).