Abstract

Objective: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a medical emergency requiring prompt initiation of empirical antibiotic therapy. We aimed to evaluate the impact of a structured, unit-based quality improvement intervention on time to antibiotic administration (TTA) in hospitalized pediatric oncology patients.

Materials and Methods: This single-center quality improvement study was conducted in a pediatric oncology inpatient unit. The intervention consisted of a structured educational program targeting healthcare professionals, including physicians and nurses. FN episodes were analyzed across pre-intervention, intervention, and post-intervention phases, and TTA was compared between these periods.

Results: A total of 73 FN episodes in 40 patients were included. Median TTA decreased from 38 minutes in the pre-intervention phase to 32 minutes during the intervention phase and to 18 minutes in the post-intervention phase (p<0.001). The proportion of patients receiving antibiotics within 60 minutes increased from 77% to 100% (p=0.010).

Conclusion: A structured, unit-based quality improvement intervention significantly reduced TTA in hospitalized pediatric oncology patients. These findings highlight the importance of system-level strategies in improving time-sensitive clinical processes in high-risk patient populations.

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Copyright and license

Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

1.
Yilmaz Y, Gul G, Eryilmaz CC, Adalet Peker EM, Erbas G, Kuleli O, et al. Improving time to antibiotic administration in febrile neutropenia: A quality improvement initiative in a pediatric oncology inpatient unit. Turk J Pediatr Dis. 2026;Early View:1-5. https://doi.org/10.12956/TJPD.2026.1343