Infection is a frequent complication in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The risk of infection is greater with advanced disease and with lower serum immunoglobulin levels. In newly diagnosed patients, the main immunodeficiency is hypogamaglobulinemia, but with different regimens of treatment, other immunodeficiencies occur and contribute to changing the spectrum and increasing the incidence of infection. This paper reviews the current knowledge of the risks and epidemiology of infection according to the different regimens given in the treatment of CLL, and presents recommendations for prophylaxis and treatment of these infections. Such recommendations are rated according to standard scoring schema used in other guidelines to illustrate the strength of the supporting evidence and the quality of the data.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia; infection; management; guidelines
