Özet:
The purpose of this study was to assess clinical characteristics and survival times for patients who presented to a university hospital emergency department with acute problems and were subsequently admitted and diagnosed with cancer. Methods: The patients were 143 individuals who were newly diagnosed with cancer after admission to the emergency department at a university hospital. Medical records were reviewed and data were retrospectively evaluated. Results: The patients included 90 males and 53 females, and the median age was 68 years. At time of diagnosis, 73 patients had locoregional disease and 70 had metastatic disease. Most common primary tumor sites were lung (n=33), gastric (n=28), colorectal region (n=23) and brain (n=13). Of 143 patients, 33 died of their disease in hospital and 110 were discharged. Most common signs and symptoms were pain (n=35), bleeding (n=24) and shortness of breath (n=23). Medical conditions that necessitated emergency admission were increased intracranial pressure (n=27), hemorrhage (n=23), infection (n=23) and intestinal obstruction (n=21). The median survival time for the 143 patients total was 6.2±1.2 months (range, 4.1-8.3 months). Conclusion: Emergency departments play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients, and even in screening for this disease. Individuals with undiagnosed cancer often present an unique set of challenges for emergency physicians because their presentation can range from vague-related symptoms to clear symptoms of malignancy that demand immediate treatment. In order for emergency physicians to be able to diagnose cancer in this patient group, it is important to maximize awareness of the cancer-related symptoms that these individuals may display.