Respiratory Failure in Cancer Patients

Abstract

A review of 180 cancer patients requiring mechanical ventilation disclosed that 26% survived to extubation, and 13% and 7% were alive at two and six months, respectively. Mortality was related to several factors individually and the cumulative number of organ systems dysfunctioning in a given patient. Compared with general intensive care patients, those with respiratory failure and neoplastic disease demonstrated a high incidence of drug-induced pulmonary disease, hematologic abnormalities, pneumothorax, and infections with multiple and unusual organisms--all of which alter the approach to management. Although the long-term survival was poor, immediate survival was comparable with that of many groups of patients with respiratory failure.

Survival Following Mechanical Ventilation for Acute Respiratory Failure in Adult Men

“…7 • 1 x With some exceptions, 2 most studies indicate that the underlying diagnosis does affect survival following MV.· 12 ··1fi In general, most studies indicate good survival in patients with COPD and poor survival in those with ARDS, AIDS, hematologic malignancy, and lung cancer. 37 We found that survival was significantly predicted by duration of MV only at the interval of hospital discharge. Two earlier reports failed to show that duration of MV distinguishes survivors from nonsurvivors at hospital dischargeYJ.> Overall survival between initiation of MV and I year after hospital discharge was not affected by duration of MV (proportional hazards regression).…”