Diagnosis and Management of Oncologic Emergencies

West J Emerg Med. 2019 Mar;20(2):316-322. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2018.12.37335. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Abstract

Oncologic emergencies may be seen in any emergency department and will become more frequent as our population ages and more patients receive chemotherapy. Life-saving interventions are available for certain oncologic emergencies if the diagnosis is made in a timely fashion. In this article we will cover neutropenic fever, tumor lysis syndrome, hypercalcemia of malignancy, and hyperviscosity syndrome. After reading this article the reader should be much more confident in the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of these oncologic emergencies.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Blood Viscosity / physiology
  • Emergencies
  • Emergency Treatment / methods
  • Hematologic Diseases / diagnosis
  • Hematologic Diseases / therapy
  • Humans
  • Hypercalcemia / diagnosis
  • Hypercalcemia / therapy
  • Neoplasms / complications
  • Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Neutropenia / diagnosis
  • Neutropenia / therapy
  • Tumor Lysis Syndrome / diagnosis
  • Tumor Lysis Syndrome / therapy