HARD DECISIONS IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Intensivecareunitkapak

DIFFICULT CASES IN ONCOLOGICAL PATIENTS

Esma Karaarslan

Konya City Hospital, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Konya, Türkiye

Karaarslan E. Difficult Cases in Oncological Patients. In: Turan S, editor. Hard Decisions in Intensive Care Unit. 1st ed. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri; 2025. p.493-504.

ABSTRACT

With the increasing incidence of cancer and advancements in treatment modalities, the survival rate of cancer patients has improved significantly. Consequently, these patients are now more frequently encountered in intensive care units. However, due to their fragile condition, they require special attention. Symptoms and findings in oncology patients must be meticulously assessed. Oncology patients may present with many complications in intensive care units. Some of these complications are challenging to manage and may necessitate urgent intervention. These include conditions such as superior vena cava syndrome, malignant spinal cord syndrome, malignancy-associated hypercalcemia, cardiac tamponade, tumor lysis syndrome, and leukostasis. These complications often demand emergent care, and their management typically aligns with treating the underlying malignancy.

This chapter discusses the symptoms, diagnostic approaches, and treatment modalities for some challenging clinical conditions observed in cancer patients.

Keywords: Superior vena cava syndrome; Malignant spinal cord syndrome; Hypercalcemia; Tumor lysis syndrome; Cardiac tamponade; Leukostasis

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