Since 2020, the
coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has led to the widespread practice of
hand hygiene and wearing face masks, not only among medical personnel, but also among the general population. Thus, the impact of the
coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on the incidence of
febrile neutropenia should be verified. This study aimed to examine the incidence of
febrile neutropenia in hospitalized patients receiving
chemotherapy at Kanazawa University Hospital. Among inpatients at the Department of Urology receiving
chemotherapy, we compared the incidence of
febrile neutropenia between 317 cases in 2018-2019 and 276 cases in 2020. We retrospectively analyzed the factors of
febrile neutropenia via binomial logistic regression analysis based on patient characteristics and the characteristics of primary diseases, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
Febrile neutropenia occurred in 20/317 cases in 2018-2019 and 1/276 cases in 2020, with a significant decrease in the latter (p = 0.005). In a multivariate analysis, we identified the following independent risk factors for
febrile neutropenia: non-
coronavirus disease 2019 era (p = 0.005), first course of
therapy (p = 0.005),
malnutrition (p = 0.032), and past history of
febrile neutropenia (p = 0.018). Due to the
coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, hygiene policies for medical personnel and quarantine measures for patients were thoroughly implemented. Therefore, the incidence of
febrile neutropenia in 2020 decreased to 1/15 of the previous incidence. Thus, the hygiene for medical personnel and patients during the expected period of
chemotherapy-induced
neutropenia is important for
febrile neutropenia prevention.