Do hospitals need oncological critical care units?

Area of Science:

• Critical care medicine
• Oncology
• Healthcare management

Background:

• Intensive care units (ICUs) have specialized across medical disciplines since the 1950s.
• Specialized ICUs exist for medicine, cardiology, neurology, trauma, burns, organ transplant, and cardiothoracic surgery.
• Oncology presents growing critical care needs due to increased cancer incidence and advanced treatments.

Discussion:

• Specialization requires infrastructure, trained staff, and refined care processes.
• Critically ill cancer patients require advanced life support for complications, toxicities, and infections.
• Evidence supports critical care specialization for oncology.

Key Insights:

• Three models of care for critically ill cancer patients are explored.
• The development of a specialized oncological ICU is considered.
• Current evidence supporting critical care specialization in oncology is summarized.

Outlook:

• Future research directions in critically ill cancer patient care are discussed.
• Advances in chemotherapeutic and surgical options increase the need for specialized critical care.
• Improved survival rates in cancer patients necessitate advanced life support capabilities.