Clinical effect of teicoplanin on pulmonary infection after chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies

To explore the effects of teicoplanin on pulmonary infection after chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies.

In the present retrospective study, 64 patients with pulmonary infection, who underwent chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies at Anhui No.2 Provincial People's Hospital from September 2019 to September 2021, were selected as an infection group, and their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. Meanwhile, 30 patients without pulmonary infection after chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies were selected as a reference group. Patients in the infection group were subdivided into control and treatment groups (n=32 each) according to the different therapeutic regimens. The control group was given routine treatment with norvancomycin, while the treatment group was given teicoplanin combined with norvancomycin. The therapeutic effects, bacterial clearance rate, recovery time, clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS), inflammatory factors and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. The risk factors of pulmonary infection after treatment for hematologic malignancies were analyzed.

The treatment group exhibited higher total therapeutic effect and higher bacterial clearance rate than the control group (P < 0.05). The treatment group had shorter time to the recovery of white blood cell (WBC) count, time to the disappearance of cough and sputum, time to return to normal body temperature, and length of stay than the control group (P < 0.05). One month post-treatment, the levels of C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and procalcitonin in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The CPISs at 7, 14, and 30 days after treatment were lower in the treatment group than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the reference group, the infection group had higher rate of diabetes, higher rate of glucocorticoid use, longer time of agranulocytosis, longer hospital stay and lower WBC count (P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that agranulocytosis time, diabetes mellitus and glucocorticoid use were independent risk factors for pulmonary infection after treatment for hematologic malignancies (P < 0.05), and that higher WBC was a protective factor (P < 0.05).

Teicoplanin in the treatment of pulmonary infection after chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies can improve the therapeutic effects, effectively clear bacteria, shorten the recovery time and reduce the inflammatory response.