The infective complications of aggressive induction of clinical remission in adult acute non-lymphoblastic leukaemia.

: The infectious complications after induction of remission in 31 previously untreated adult patients with acute myeloid leukaemia are described. Clinically, most of the febrile episodes were associated with infection, and in 11 of the patients who died infection was the direct cause. In 6 out of these 11 the causal organism was diagnosed ante mortem. In 6 of the 15 patients who regenerated to clinical remission and who had fever the causal organism was isolated. The policy of management of fever in this group of patients is outlined.