What Are Some Pediatric Oncological Emergencies?
Discussion
Pediatric cancers in the US number about 12,000 per year. After injury, it is the second leading cause of death in children and adolescents. Cancer presentations vary widely, but often begin with non-specific symptoms that continue or progress depending on the location and tumor type. Patients can present with oncological emergencies especially if there are mechanical obstruction such as superior vena cava syndrome or cerebral herniation. More commonly are infections due to immunosuppression. Cancer treatment also causes its own myriad of problems that clinicians need to be aware of to diagnosis and treat, but again they can have insidious or non-specific presentations. Patients often present with a commonly anticipated problem such as fever and neutropenia or abdominal pain, but it may be a sign of something more emergent. Patients not acting right initially, or not responding to treatment as expected, may have another problem.
Learning Point
Pediatric oncological emergencies include:
Cardiovascular/Pulmonary
Pericardial effusion or tamponade
Hemoptysis
Infection
Pulmonary embolism
Gastrointestinal
Bowel obstruction or perforation
Infection – appendicitis, tyhilitis or neutropenic colitis
Intussception
Pancreatitis
Hematologic
Anemia
Bleeding
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
Hyperleukocytosis
Leukopenia
Thrombocytopenia
Thrombosis
Transfusion reactions
Infection
Fever and neutropenia
Infection – bacterial, fungus, viral, parasitic
Septic sho...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Pediatric Education Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
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