GCLLSG 2016 | Guidance on how to prevent infections in patients with CLL
Carsten Niemann, MD, PhD of Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, provides brief guidance on preventing infections in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. During neutropenia due to treatment, patients can suffer from infections from their own microbiome; when patients are not neutropenic, most infections come through the hands. Therefore good hand hygiene and continuous use of disinfectants is important. Dr Niemann’s second piece of advice is to have the flu shot, as those with CLL will have a greater risk of developing a bacterial infection as a superinfection on top of having the flu. He notes the pneumococcal vaccine used against common pneumonia as another potential prophylactic approach against infections. Recorded at the 2016 International Workshop of the German CLL Study Group (GCLLSG) in Cologne, Germany.
