The increasing prevalence of patients living with cancer in conjunction with the rapid progress in cancer therapy will lead to a growing number of patients with cancer who will require intensive care treatment.
Critical care has become an important cornerstone in the continuum of modern cancer care. The main reasons for admitting a cancer patient to an intensive-care unit are:
- Postoperative recovery after major resection surgery
- Critical complications of the cancer disease and its treatment such as tumour lysis syndrome and febrile neutropenia
- Administration and monitoring of intensive anticancer treatment
- Acute disease unrelated to cancer or its treatment
Neuro Spinal Hospital (Dubai) intensive care unit is a 10-bed closed unit with 24-hour intensivist coverage. It is equipped with the latest technology such as mechanical ventilators and bedside monitors that are needed in the monitoring and management of critically ill oncology patients. Two of the 10 beds are negative pressure isolation beds with the ability to convert to positive pressure rooms whenever a patient with anti-cancer treatment neutropenia needs admission to ICU.