Pediatric Emergency Care for Children and Adolescents with Cancer: Causes of Consultation and Factors Associated with Hospitalization

• Autor(a) principal: Cunha, Maria Ourinda Mesquita da
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Lima, Fernanda Ferreira da Silva, Grabois, Marilia Fornaciari, Silva, André Ricardo Araújo da, Ferman, Sima
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Cancerologia (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://rbc.inca.gov.br/index.php/revista/article/view/4076
• topic: neutropenia febril; oncologia; serviços médicos de emergência; criança; adolescente; febrile neutropenia; medical oncology; emergency medical services; children; adolescent; neutropenia febril; oncología médica; servicios médicos de emergencia; niño; adolescente

Introduction: Pediatric emergency care is essential for adequate medical treatment of pediatric cancer-associated complications and for increasing the chances of cure. Objective: This study aimed to describe pediatric cancer-associated emergencies and outcomes, and to analyze the factors associated with hospitalization. Method: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted including patients aged ≤19 years who attended the pediatric emergency of a general cancer hospital from April 17 to October 17, 2019. The variables analyzed were demographics, socioeconomic status, disease and treatment factors, reasons for seeking emergency care, and associated outcomes. Results: This study included 309 patients who required 994 emergency consultations, with a total of 766 reasons for seeking care. The median age was 4.86 years; 50.8% were female and 51.5% were white. The patients had solid tumors (49.8%), central nervous system tumors (27.5%), and hematological neoplasms (15.5%). Most of the patients were home discharged (72.2%) or to support houses (6.7%). Fever was the most frequent symptom (30.8%) and the most common reason for admission. 19.2% of the patients were admitted to the ward and 2.0% to the pediatric intensive care unit (2.0%). Only two of the 309 patients (0.6%) seeking care in the pediatric emergency died in the emergency room, and these patients were in end-of-life care. Conclusion: The availability of a pediatric emergency room with skilled professionals in supportive care of pediatric patients with cancer was essential for the management of disease and treatment-related complications.