Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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Cancer and its therapies may lead to several metabolic emergencies that emergency providers (EPs) should be well-versed in identifying and managing. With prompt recognition and treatment initiation in the emergency department, lives can be saved and quality of life maintained. ⋯ This article reviews the 2 most emergent oncologic metabolic diagnoses: tumor lysis syndrome and hypercalcemia of malignancy. A discussion on associated cancers and conditions, pathogenesis and pathophysiology, and management recommendations is included.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Aug 2014
ReviewEvaluation and Management of Congenital Bleeding Disorders.
Patients presenting to the emergency department with acute bleeding and a history of clotting or platelet disorder present a unique challenge to the emergency physician. The severity of bleeding presentation is based on mechanism as well as factor levels: patients with factor levels greater than 5% can respond to most minor hemostatic challenges, whereas those with factor levels less than 1% bleed with minor trauma or even spontaneously. Treatment should be initiated in consultation with the patient's hematologist using medications and specific factor replacement, except in rare, life-threatening, resource-poor situations, when cryoprecipitate or activated prothrombin complex may be considerations.
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Acute painful episodes are the most common reason for emergency department visits among patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Early and aggressive pain management is a priority. Emergency providers (EPs) must also diagnose other emergent diagnoses in patients with SCD and differentiate them from vaso-occlusive crisis. ⋯ Administration of intravenous fluids should be used judiciously. Blood transfusion may be considered. Coordination of care with hematology is an important part of the effective emergency department and long-term management of patients with SCD.
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Fever is a common presenting complaint among adult or pediatric patients in the emergency department setting. Although fever in healthy individuals does not necessarily indicate severe illness, fever in patients with neutropenia may herald a life-threatening infection. ⋯ Serious bacterial illness is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality for neutropenic patients. Neutropenic fever should trigger the initiation of a rapid work-up and the administration of empiric systemic antibiotic therapy to attenuate or avoid the progression along the spectrum of sepsis, severe sepsis, septic shock syndrome, and death.
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The overall prognosis for most pediatric cancers is good. Mortality for all childhood cancers combined is approximately half what it was in 1975, and the survival rates of many malignancies continue to improve. ⋯ Emergency providers who can identify and manage oncologic emergencies can contribute significantly to an improved prognosis. Effective care of pediatric malignancies requires an age-appropriate approach to patients and compassionate understanding of family dynamics.