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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. Oct 24, 2020; 11(10): 809-835
Published online Oct 24, 2020. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v11.i10.809
Critically ill patients with cancer: A clinical perspective
Frank Daniel Martos-Benítez, Caridad de Dios Soler-Morejón, Karla Ximena Lara-Ponce, Versis Orama-Requejo, Dailé Burgos-Aragüez, Hilev Larrondo-Muguercia, Rahim W Lespoir
Frank Daniel Martos-Benítez, Caridad de Dios Soler-Morejón, Karla Ximena Lara-Ponce, Versis Orama-Requejo, Dailé Burgos-Aragüez, Hilev Larrondo-Muguercia, Rahim W Lespoir, Intensive Care Unit 8B, Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, Havana 10300, Cuba
Author contributions: Martos-Benítez FD contributed with conception, literature review, drafting, critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version; Soler-Morejón CD, Lara-Ponce KX, Orama-Requejo V, Burgos-Aragüez D, Larrondo-Muguercia H, and Lespoir RW equally contributed with literature review, drafting and critical revision, and final approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no potential conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Frank Daniel Martos-Benítez, MD, PhD, Doctor, Statistician, Teacher, Intensive Care Unit 8B, Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, 702 San Lázaro St, Havana 10300, Cuba. fdmartos@infomed.sld.cu
Received: February 22, 2020
Peer-review started: February 24, 2020
First decision: July 25, 2020
Revised: August 9, 2020
Accepted: September 14, 2020
Article in press: September 14, 2020
Published online: October 24, 2020
Abstract

Cancer patients account for 15% of all admissions to intensive care unit (ICU) and 5% will experience a critical illness resulting in ICU admission. Mortality rates have decreased during the last decades because of new anticancer therapies and advanced organ support methods. Since early critical care and organ support is associated with improved survival, timely identification of the onset of clinical signs indicating critical illness is crucial to avoid delaying. This article focused on relevant and current information on epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of the main clinical disorders experienced by critically ill cancer patients.

Keywords: Acute respiratory failure, Cancer, Cardiotoxicity, Chemotherapy, Critical care, Infection, Mechanical ventilation, Neutropenia, Postoperative, Sepsis

Core Tip: Cancer patients are commonly admitted to intensive care unit because of acute respiratory failure due to pulmonary infiltrates or pneumonia, healthcare associated infection by multidrug-resistant pathogens, postoperative care, cardiovascular complications, and neurological disorders. Early critical care and organ support is associated with improved outcomes. Standardized diagnosis strategy and evidence-based therapy are critical in the management of specific clinical disorders.