Prognosis of lung cancer patients followed in the intensive care unit: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Lung cancer is the most common solid organ malignancy requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. For many years, lung cancer patients were not considered in the priority patient category for admission to ICU because of their high mortality rate and poor response to therapy. Considering the developments in treatment modalities, we aimed to reevaluate the prognosis of patients with lung cancer in the ICU. Patients characteristics, date of diagnosis, the reason for ICU admission, the stage of cancer, histopathological type, history of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery for cancer, and APACHE-II and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) were recorded retrospectively. A total of 100 patients had a mean age of 69.7 ± 9.0 years. Among these patients, 18% had small cell lung cancer, while 82% had non-small cell lung cancer. The in-hospital mortality rate was 69% for all patients, while among those discharged from the ICU, the first 6-month mortality rate was 58.1%. The median survival time was 8.2 months. Advanced age, the need for mechanical ventilation, the need for vasopressors, a high APACHE -II, and the CCI all reduced survival in multivariate analysis, whereas chemotherapy and surgical history improved survival. Patients admitted to the ICU with lung cancer continue to experience a high mortality rate. However, identifying the factors that are associated with survival can be crucial in establishing care plans and prioritizing ICU admission for further therapy.