Abstract
Oncological emergencies can occur at any time during the course of a malignancy and need to be recognized promptly to maximize successful outcomes. Emergencies are characterized as chemotherapy‐induced, paraneoplastic syndromes, or directly related to the neoplasm. Prompt identification with treatment of these emergencies can prolong survival and improve quality of life, even in the setting of terminal illness. This review aims to educate the reader on the pathophysiology, clinical presentation and treatment of some of these emergencies, and to review the current veterinary literature to help educate veterinarians in primary and tertiary facilities to know how to diagnose and treat these serious conditions.
Highlights
The care of oncology patients, when they develop acute complications either from their underlying neoplasm or secondary to therapy, presents a challenge for veterinary oncologists, general practitioners and emergency clinicians
An oncological emergency is defined as an acute condition that is caused by cancer or its treatment requiring rapid intervention to avoid death or severe permanent damage (Cervantes & Chirivella 2004)
A 2011 consensus document published by the Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group (VCOG) provided practitioners with a grading scale for adverse effects (AE) that can occur as well as the terminology to facilitate the accurate and consistent reporting of AE in patients receiving chemotherapy
Summary
The care of oncology patients, when they develop acute complications either from their underlying neoplasm or secondary to therapy, presents a challenge for veterinary oncologists, general practitioners and emergency clinicians. A 2011 consensus document published by the Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group (VCOG) provided practitioners with a grading scale for AE that can occur as well as the terminology to facilitate the accurate and consistent reporting of AE in patients receiving chemotherapy. Such standardization of terminology is essential for information transmission between clinicians and institutions (Yoon et al 2007). These guidelines discuss a comprehensive range of AE and are divided into categories based on anatomy or pathophysiology with each given a grade of 1 through 5, from mild to death related AE. The reader is directed to the VCOG paper for further discussion of AE grading (VCOG 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
