Title: Critically Ill Cancer Patient?<br/>Author: Mike Winters<br/><a href='http://umem.org/profiles/faculty/141/'>[Click to email author]</a><hr/><p>
        <strong><u>Identifying Critically Ill Cancer Patients in the ED</u></strong></p>
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                Immunosuppressed patients with malignancy are at high risk of complications and rapid decompensation.</li>
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                Select pearls in identifying ED patients with cancer that are at high risk of critical illness include:
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                                Patients with <u>profound neutropenia</u> (< 100/mm³) are at high risk for <u>fungal infections</u> (i.e., aspergillosis)</li>
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                                <u>Hypoxemia that requires oxygen</u> is a predictor of later <u>ICU admission</u>.</li>
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                                Patients with <u>bilateral infiltrates</u> on CXR are at high risk of decompensation. Consider ICU admission.</li>
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                                Patients with <u>promyelocytic leukemias</u> are at high risk of <u>DIC</u>. Patients with this complication should be admitted to the ICU.</li>
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<fieldset><legend>References</legend>

                <p>
        Peyrony O, Shapiro NI. The 10 signs telling me that my cancer patient in the emergency department is at high risk of becoming critically ill. <em>Intensive Care Med</em>. 2018; epub ahead of print.</p>
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