Talcott Rules (Febrile Neutropenia Risk)
Talcott rules (Talcott 1988): inpatient status at fever onset, serious concurrent comorbidity, and uncontrolled cancer classify febrile-neutropenia patients into groups I–IV, with group IV at low complication risk.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Inpatient at fever onset
- No
- Serious concurrent comorbidity
- Yes
- Uncontrolled / progressive cancer
- No
Result: Talcott group II — outpatient with serious comorbidity (~55% complications).
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Group I-III
- Inpatient, or outpatient with comorbidity or uncontrolled cancer: higher complication risk (~31-55%).
- Group IV
- Outpatient, no comorbidity, controlled cancer: low risk (~2%). A risk classification, not a discharge order.
What you enter
- Inpatient at fever onset
- Serious concurrent comorbidity
- Uncontrolled / progressive cancer
How this is calculated
Talcott JA, Finberg R, Mayer RJ, Goldman L. The medical course of cancer patients with fever and neutropenia: clinical identification of a low-risk subgroup at presentation. Arch Intern Med. 1988;148(12):2561-2568. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.