Emergencies in Hematology and Oncology

Abstract

The development of medical emergencies related to the underlying disease or as a result of complications of therapy are common in patients with hematologic or solid tumors. These oncological emergencies can occur as an initial presentation or in a patient with an established diagnosis and are encountered in all medical care settings, ranging from primary care to the emergency department and various subspecialty environments. Therefore, it is critically important that all physicians have a working knowledge of the potential oncological emergencies that may present in their practice and how to provide the most effective care without delay. This article reviews the most common oncological emergencies and provides practical guidance for initial management of these patients.

Concurrent Cardiac Tamponade and Superior Vena Cava Syndrome: A Concerning Situation

“…Radiation therapy while effective takes time to provide symptom relief. Elevating the head end of the bed, providing supplemental oxygen, steroid use, and diuretics can be given as further supportive therapy [8]. SVC syndrome is reported only in 4% patients with NHL with 60% of these cases being PMBCL.…”

Regarding “Emergencies in Hematology and Oncology”—I

“…This treatment approach, in aggregate, has value in modulating complete remission of the malignant underlying disease. 4 Another type of complication that can lead to admission to ICUs, but not mentioned by Halfdanarson et al, 1 was digestive complications. Today, these are inadequately described and probably underestimated in the available indexed literature, in part because very few studies have evaluated abdominal complications of cancer patients in the ICU setting.…”

“…To the Editor: I would like to commend Halfdanarson et al 1 on their excellent review published in the April 2017 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Furthermore, I would like to add acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) to their list of emergency conditions.…”

Enfermagem e emergências oncológicas: avaliação do conhecimento / Nursing and oncological emergencies: knowledge assessment

“…Foram identificados maiores acertos, por parte dos enfermeiros, quanto à Neutropenia Febril. Em contrapartida, o menor número de acertos, pelos enfermeiros investigados, foi referente à obstrução das vias aéreas que consiste em uma emergência oncológica, causada por tumores em estado avançado na árvore traqueo-brônquica ou lesões metastáticas, podendo também, ser provocada por tumores da tireoide, esôfago e mediastino (14) . Inferimos que, por não ser uma emergência restrita à área da oncologia, era (12) .…”