Oncologic Critical Care

This major reference work is the most comprehensive resource on oncologic critical care. The text reviews all significant aspects of oncologic ICU practices, with a particular focus on challenges encountered in the diagnosis and management of the critically ill cancer patient population. Comprised of over 140 chapters, the text explores such topics as the organization and management of an oncologic ICU, diseases and complications encountered in the oncologic ICU, multidisciplinary care, surgical care, transfusion medicine, special patient populations, critical care procedures, ethics, pain management, and palliative care. Written by worldwide experts in the field, Oncologic Critical Care is a valuable resource for intensivists, advance practice providers, nurses, and other healthcare providers, that will help close significant knowledge and educational gaps within the realm of medical care for critically ill cancer patients.

This book provides insights into the care of cancer patients in the intensive care unit in a comprehensive manner. It provides an evidence-based approach to practitioners and postgraduate students to understand about the critical care needs of the patients suffering from malignancies. It helps the readers to develop critical thinking and encourage discussion towards improving the overall care of the patients and their families as their optimal management requires expertise in oncology, critical care, and palliative medicine and there is a dearth of books explaining about the special requirements and critical care needs of cancer patients. Each chapter is prepared by an expert in the field and contains well-prepared illustrations, flowcharts and relevant images. Chapters include latest evidence-based information which is useful for the readers. The book is useful for residents, fellows and trainees in the field of onco-anaesthesia, onco-critical care, onco-surgery, critical care and anaesthesia; practitioners and consultants in anaesthesia and onco-anaesthesia as well as intensivist, critical care experts and postgraduates in nursing.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1.6 million people will be diagnosed with cancer during this year. Outcomes have steadily risen over the last several decades with the advent of newer therapies. As outcomes have improved, more and more cancer patients are developing critical illness. In the not-too-distant past, patients with active malignancy were thought not appropriate for critical care services as decreased longevity related to the cancer suggested poor prognosis for intensive care utilization. More recently, evidence supports rapid activation of critical care services leading to improved outcomes in cancer patients. Moreover, just as sub-subspecialty critical care experience in trauma and neurosciences has proved beneficial, the emerging field of oncology critical care warrants specific attention.

This issue of Critical Care Clinics, Guest Edited by Dr. Stephen M. Pastores and Dr. Wendy R. Greene, focuses on Critical Care of the Cancer Patient (Pastores) and Geriatric Critical Care (Greene). Dr. Pastores' section of the issue is devoted to Critical Care of the Cancer Patient and includes the following topics: Triage and Prognostication of Cancer Patients Admitted to the ICU; ICU Organization and Interdisciplinary Care for Critically Ill Patients with Cancer; Critical Care of the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipient; Management of Drug Toxicities; Acute Kidney Injury in the Critically Ill Patient with Cancer; Infectious Disease Complications in Cancer Patients; and Palliative, Ethics, and End-of-Life Care Issues in the Cancer Patient. Dr. Green's section of the issue, devoted to Geriatric Critical Care, includes the following topics: The effect of aging physiology on critical care; The frailty syndrome: a critical issue in geriatric oncology; Detection of delirium in the intensive care unit: comparison of confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit with confusion assessment method ratings; Evidence-based geriatric nursing protocols for best practice; The effect of dementia in the critically ill geriatric patient; Nutritional assessment: a primary component of multidimensional geriatric assessment in the ICU; Rehabilitation concerns in the geriatric critically ill and injured; and Geriatric palliative care.

A comprehensive review of cancer patient treatment methods in the Intensive Care Unit. Articles include: Admission Criteria and Prognostication in Cancer Patients Admitted to the ICU; Diagnostic Strategies and Management of Acute Respiratory Failure in Cancer Patients Requiring Intensive Care; Mechanical Ventilation in Cancer Patients: Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes; Critical Care of the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipient; Critical Issues in Oncological Surgery Patients; and Diagnosis and Management of Infectious Complications in Critically Ill Patients with Cancer.

Critical Care Nursing of the Oncology Patient arms nurses with knowledge of how to use aspects of both oncology and critical care nursing to optimally care for patients with cancer, including working collaboratively throughout the transition from the medical-surgical floor to the intensive care unit and back to the medical-surgical floor.

In the not-too-distant past, patients with active malignancy were thought not appropriate for critical care services as decreased longevity related to the cancer suggested poor prognosis for intensive care utilization. More recently, evidence supports rapid activation of critical care services leading to improved outcomes in cancer patients. Moreover, just as sub-speciality critical care experience in trauma and neurosciences has proved beneficial, the emerging field of critical care oncology warrants specific attention.