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Critical review of emergency department management of chemotherapy complications in cancer patients
Author(s) -
Casanovas Blanco Meritxell
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.12974
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency department , observational study , triage , intensive care medicine , medline , ambulatory , febrile neutropenia , health care , ambulatory care , emergency medicine , chemotherapy , neutropenia , nursing , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Abstract Introduction Recent worldwide advances in cancer therapies have resulted in an increased number of people receiving chemotherapy in ambulatory care settings. In Spain, emergency departments are the single point of entry to acute inpatient services and they play a pivotal role in the management of chemotherapy complications. Little research exists in patterns of emergency department utilisation by oncology patients with chemotherapy‐related complications. However, it is important for the oncology patients and the healthcare system to gain understanding in the disease pathway and the organisational factors influencing the quality of care. Methods This critical review's main aims were to describe the clinical characteristics of patients who presented to an emergency department after chemotherapy treatment as reported in international literature; to map reported patterns of care in emergency department access; and quality of care exploring the management of febrile neutropenic patients described in the literature, against best practice guidelines. Results The search strategy yield 701 articles from MEDLINE, TROVE and SCOPUS and 26 were included. The review combines systematic reviews, observational, cross‐sectional case–control studies and randomised control trials. Conclusion All articles showed areas and opportunities for improvement in the management of this population, especially with regard to time from triage to antibiotic administration in febrile neutropenic patients.