ANORECTAL COMPLICATIONS DURING NEUTROPENIC PERIOD IN PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGIC DISEASES

Background: Neutropenic patients are susceptible to any anorectal disease, and symptomatic anorectal disease afflicts 2-32% of oncology patients. Perianal infections are the most feared complication, considering the lack of natural defense against infectious microorganisms. When septic complications develop, anorectal disease is potentially fatal, especially in neutropenic patients, in whom mortality rates range from 11-57%. Although anorectal diseases are a frequent complication with potentially fatal outcomes among patients with hematologic diseases, sufficient data are not available in literature. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anorectal complications developing during neutropenic period in patients with hematologic diseases.Methods: A total of 79 patients whose neutropenic period (absolute neutrophil count <500/mcL) continued for 7 days or longer were included in the study.Results: A total of 34 patients out of 79 (43%) were detected to develop anorectal complications, of them 6 (7.6%) developed anorectal infection. Disease type, presence of active disease, type of treatment and presence of the history of an anorectal disease before the diagnosis of the hematologic disease were detected to be effective on anorectal disease development.Conclusion: Anorectal disease is a common complication with high recurrence rate in neutropenic patients. Perianal infections are important as they can cause life-threatening outcomes although they are relatively rare among all anorectal complications, therefore perianal signs and symptoms should be meticulously evaluated with regard to early diagnosis and treatment.