Outcomes of intensive care unit admissions after elective cancer surgery

Postoperative care for major elective cancer surgery is frequently provided on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

To analyze the characteristics and outcome of patients after ICU admission following elective surgery for different cancer diagnoses.

We analyzed all ICU admissions following elective cancer surgery in the Netherlands collected in the National Intensive Care Evaluation registry between January 2007 and January 2012.

28,973 patients (9.0% of all ICU admissions; 40% female) were admitted to the ICU after elective cancer surgery. Of these admissions 77% were planned; in 23% of cases the decision for ICU admission was made during or directly after surgery. The most frequent malignancies were colorectal cancer (25.6%), lung cancer (18.5%) and tumors of the central nervous system (14.3%). Mechanical ventilation was necessary in 24.8% of all patients, most frequently after surgery for esophageal (62.5%) and head and neck cancer (50.2%); 20.7% of patients were treated with vasopressors in the acute postoperative phase, in particular after surgery for esophageal cancer (41.8%). The median length of stay on the ICU was 0.9 days (interquartile ranges [IQR] 0.8-1.5); surgery for esophageal cancer was associated with the longest ICU length of stay (median 2.0 days) with the largest variation (IQR 1.0-4.8 days). ICU mortality was 1.4%; surgery for gastrointestinal cancer was associated with the highest ICU mortality (colorectal cancer 2.2%, pancreatico-cholangiocarcinoma 2.0%).

Elective cancer surgery represents a significant part of all ICU admissions, with a short length of stay and low mortality.