As with all newly admitted patients, a thorough drug history should be taken. This is especially important for cancer patients presenting with acute toxicity from systemic anticancer therapy (SACT). Any oral anticancer therapy should be identified and discussed with the oncall oncology / haematology registrar - refer to the NHSAAA Acute Oncology Initial Management Guidelines link below for contact details.
Patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer will often present as an emergency with acute complications of their disease or treatment. Some patients will have a known diagnosis of cancer and others may present with acute complications of undiagnosed malignant disease. Common oncological emergencies may include:
In all cases, the on-call oncology or haematology registrar should be paged urgently - refer to the NHSAAA Acute Oncology Initial Management Guidelines link below for contact details. For management of oncological emergencies, see below:
Guideline reviewed | November 2024 |
Page updated | November 2024 |