EVALUATION OF CASES DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

I. International Cancer Days, Sivas, Türkiye, 19 - 21 Eylül 2019, ss.390-395

Introduction: The main objective of this retrospective study is to analyze the cancer patients who

hospitalized in recent 3 years in Cumhuriyet University Anesthesia Intensive Care Unit.

Method: The type of the study is a retrospective, single-centered, descriptive study. The target

population of the study consisted of 1294 patients who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit

of our hospital between January 2016 and January 2019. The sample of the study consisted of 97

patients who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit with diagnosis of cancer. The demographic

characteristics of the patients, the types of cancer they were diagnosed, the clinic from which they

were transferred to the intensive care unit, the number of days they were hospitalized and the

mortality rates were recorded.

Results: Of the 97 cancer patients 58.7% were male (57 patients) and 41.3% (40 patients) were

female. The mean age of the patients diagnosed with cancer was 62.7 ± 12.6 years. The mean length

of hospitalization was calculated as 20.6 ± 17.1 days. 25 patients (25.8 %) were of lung origin, 19

patients (19.6 %) of hematologic origin, 9 patients (9.3 %) of breast origin.

Discussion and Conclusion: In conclusion, it is controversial that terminal cancer patients should

be followed up in intensive care unit. The use of specialized and equipped intensive care beds for

patients who cannot be treated for an average period of 20.9 days, according to the results of this

study, is also a question mark. In order to use ICU more effectively, strategies such as palliative

care unit and hospice for terminal cancer patients should now be more on the agenda in our country.