RESUMO
Thirty-five episodes of localized infection among 20 patients with acute leukemia and granulocytopenia (less than 1000 cells/microliter) were treated with intensive supportive care including systemic antibiotics. In a double blind randomization, 17 of the episodes also received 400 rads of megavoltage irradiation to the site of the lesion given as a single dose and repeated 7 days later. No significant differences were observed in response rates between the irradiated and nonirradiated lesions. Overall, 65% of the irradiated infections and 44% of the nonirradiated lesions responded completely, a difference which is not significant. The median number of days required to achieve maximum clinical response was similar whether or not irradiation was given (10 versus 12 days). Management of such localized infections should include early diagnosis with prompt institution of intensive supportive care including appropriate systemic antibiotics, but low-dose irradiation cannot be recommended as part of the routine management of these lesions.