Yang Jian Ong,1â 3 Nisha Sikotra,1,4 Janelle Prunster,1,2 Nicola Bailey,2 Jane Hadfield,2 Rosemary Smith,2 Rohen Skiba,2 Astrid Arellano,5 Eli Gabbay,1â 3,6 Timothy D Clay1,7,8 1Bendat Respiratory Research and Development Group, St John of God Healthcare, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia; 2Department of Medical Teaching, St John of God Healthcare, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia; 3The University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia; 4Research Department, St John of God Healthcare, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia; 5Department of Infectious Diseases, St John of God Healthcare, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia; 6Department of Respiratory Medicine, St John of God Healthcare, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia; 7Department of Medical Oncology, St John of God Healthcare, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia; 8School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University Joondalup, Joondalup, Western Australia, AustraliaCorrespondence: Nisha Sikotra Tel +61 08 9382 9172Email Nisha.sikotra@sjog.org.auBackground: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a medical emergency that requires prompt empirical antibiotic treatment. Logistical factors can hamper the timely delivery of antibiotics for patients with suspected FN.Aim: To determine our institutionâs adherence to timeliness of antibiotic administration after the implementation of strategies following a previous audit.Methods: Two retrospective audits were performed. Patients were identified through hospital coding and data were extracted from medical records. Interventions following the first audit included targeted staff education; development of a âFebrile Neutropenia Boxâ and the establishment of an acute medical unit (AMU). Adherence to guidelines and the effect of interventions were compared.Results: Audit one: 72 admissions (January 2017âDecember 2017); audit two: 55 admissions (October 2018âOctober 2019). Median time to antibiotics and adherence to 60-minute administration target: audit one: 135 minutes (range 15â 5160; 11% adherence); audit two: 80 minutes (range 0â 2130; 45% adherence, P=< 0.001). In audit two, the admission ward was the major factor that reduced time to treatment â AMU: 43 minutes (range 0â 440; 70% adherence); oncology ward: 98 minutes (range 0â 2130; 40% adherence); other wards: 190 minutes (range 0â 750; 27% adherence) (p=0.028 for adherence).Conclusion: A gap in our routine care of FN was identified. We assessed the effects of several interventions. The most important intervention was the introduction of the AMU which allowed sufficient resources to address time critical tasks. Health institutions without an emergency department should consider similar pathways to ensure timely care for patients with FN. Auditing current practice and evaluating interventions are important.Keywords: febrile neutropenia, quality improvement, complications of cancer, clinical practice guidelines, FN