Hematologic and Oncologic Emergencies

Abstract

Hematologic and oncologic emergencies are an uncommon reason for people to present to the emergency department (ED), but when they do, it is important to know how to diagnose and treat these conditions because many of them are life threatening. Whether it is bleeding due to conditions such as hemophilia, von Willebrand’s disease, warfarin use, or dangerous conditions related to cancer such as tumor lysis syndrome or neutropenic fever, knowing the basics will help you manage these patients and also ace the standardized tests. This chapter presents questions related to the diagnosis, clinical effects, best first response in the ED, and most appropriate treatment of a wide range of these hematologic and oncologic emergencies.