Diagnostic Radiology in Hematological Patients with Febrile Neutropenia

Heussel, Claus Peter

Radiologists have a special role in the management of neutropenic patients. The appropriate investigational technique, specific differential diagnoses, and particular risks of these patients need to be understood by referring physicians as well as by radiologists. Thus, communication and cooperation, also including other clinical disciplines such as pulmonology, are required. Early detection of an infectious focus is the major goal in febrile neutropenic patients. As pneumonia is the most common focus, chest imaging is a special radiological task. The sensitivity of chest x-ray, especially in supine position, is low. Therefore, the very sensitive thin-section multislice CT became a gold standard in neutropenic hosts and might be cost effective in comparison to antibiotic treatment. CT-based localization can be used to guide invasive procedures in order to obtain samples for microbiological workup. Furthermore, the radiological characterization of infiltrates gives a first and rapid hint to discriminate between infectious (viral, typical bacterial, atypical bacterial, fungal) and noninfectious etiologies. Radiological follow-up has to take into account aspects according to disease, immune recovery, and treatment modalities. Due to a high incidence of fungal-related lung infiltrates, interpretation of follow-up findings must include further parameters besides lesion size. Apart from the lungs, also other organ systems such as the brain, liver, and paranasal sinuses need attention and are to be imaged with the appropriate technique.