Original Articles
- Hematology
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Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Critically Ill Cancer Patients Admitted to Korean Intensive Care Units
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Soo Jin Na, Tae Sun Ha, Younsuck Koh, Gee Young Suh, Shin Ok Koh, Chae-Man Lim, Won-Il Choi, Young-Joo Lee, Seok Chan Kim, Gyu Rak Chon, Je Hyeong Kim, Jae Yeol Kim, Jaemin Lim, Sunghoon Park, Ho Cheol Kim, Jin Hwa Lee, Ji Hyun Lee, Jisook Park, Juhee Cho, Kyeongman Jeon
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Acute Crit Care. 2018;33(3):121-129. Published online August 31, 2018
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/acc.2018.00143
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Abstract
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- Background
The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics and clinical outcomes of critically ill cancer patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in Korea.
Methods
This was a retrospective cohort study that analyzed prospective collected data from the Validation of Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 (SAPS3) in Korean ICU (VSKI) study, which is a nationwide, multicenter, and prospective study that considered 5,063 patients from 22 ICUs in Korea over a period of 7 months. Among them, patients older than 18 years of age who were diagnosed with solid or hematologic malignancies prior to admission to the ICU were included in the present study.
Results
During the study period, a total of 1,762 cancer patients were admitted to the ICUs and 833 of them were deemed eligible for analysis. Six hundred fifty-eight (79%) had solid tumors and 175 (21%) had hematologic malignancies, respectively. Respiratory problems (30.1%) was the most common reason leading to ICU admission. Patients with hematologic malignancies had higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (12 vs. 8, P<0.001) and SAPS3 (71 vs. 69, P<0.001) values and were more likely to be associated with chemotherapy, steroid therapy, and immunocompromised status versus patients with solid tumors. The use of inotropes/ vasopressors, mechanical ventilation, and/or continuous renal replacement therapy was more frequently required in hematologic malignancy patients. Mortality rates in the ICU (41.7% vs. 24.6%, P<0.001) and hospital (53.1% vs. 38.6%, P=0.002) were higher in hematologic malignancy patients than in solid tumor patients.
Conclusions
Cancer patients accounted for one-third of all patients admitted to the studied ICUs in Korea. Clinical characteristics were different according to the type of malignancy. Patients with hematologic malignancies had a worse prognosis than did patients with solid tumor.
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Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by

- Impacto da enfermaria de cuidados paliativos na taxa de mortalidade padronizada da UTI do Hospital de Câncer de Mato Grosso
Manoella Almeida De Amorim, Pamella Dal Bem, Renan Name Amaral, Carlos José Alves, Gilberto Paulo Pereira Franco , Millena Abe Botof, Tamis Coelho Nunes, José Geraldo Do Amaral
Revista Sociedade Científica.2026; 9(1): 1492. CrossRef - Pronóstico del paciente crítico con cáncer en la era de la oncología de precisión
Víctor Hugo Nieto Estrada, Viviana Reyes Zambrano, Daniel Molano Franco, Margarita Tavella
Medicina Intensiva.2026; : 502526. CrossRef - Prognosis of the critically ill cancer patient in the era of precision oncology
Víctor Hugo Nieto Estrada, Viviana Reyes Zambrano, Daniel Molano Franco, Margarita Tavella
Medicina Intensiva (English Edition).2026; : 502526. CrossRef - Prognostic impact of shock at ICU admission in acute respiratory failure
Tae Wan Kim, Jae Young Choi, Joonho Lee, Jin Song Park, Chi Ryang Chung, Jeong Hoon Yang, Gee Young Suh, Ryoung-Eun Ko, Vijay Hadda
PLOS One.2026; 21(7): e0353556. CrossRef - Mortality-Related Risk Factors in Patients with Hematologic Neoplasm Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review
Jhon H. Quintana, Cesar David López-Vanegas, Giovanna Patricia Rivas-Tafurt, Leidy Tatiana Ordoñez-Mora, Heiler Lozada-Ramos, Jorge Enrique Daza-Arana
Current Oncology.2025; 32(3): 132. CrossRef - The critical role of timely medical emergency team activation in oncological and non-oncological patients
Kaspar F. Bachmann, Samuel J. Michimura, Luca Cioccari, Joerg C. Schefold, Anna S. Messmer, Vinaya Satyawan Tari
PLOS One.2025; 20(5): e0324831. CrossRef - Outcomes of Acute Respiratory Failure in Patients With Cancer in the United States
Kiyan Heybati, Jiawen Deng, Archis Bhandarkar, Fangwen Zhou, Cameron Zamanian, Namrata Arya, Mohamad Bydon, Philippe R. Bauer, Ognjen Gajic, Allan J. Walkey, Hemang Yadav
Mayo Clinic Proceedings.2024; 99(4): 578. CrossRef - Characteristics and outcomes of cancer patients admitted to intensive care units in cancer specialized hospitals in China
Wensheng Liu, Dongmin Zhou, Li Zhang, Mingguang Huang, Rongxi Quan, Rui Xia, Yong Ye, Guoxing Zhang, Zhuping Shen
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef - Short-term and long-term outcomes of critically ill patients with solid malignancy: a retrospective cohort study
Su Yeon Lee, Jin Won Huh, Sang-Bum Hong, Chae-Man Lim, Jee Hwan Ahn
The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine.2024; 39(6): 957. CrossRef - Intensive Care Unit Outcomes and Mortality in Elderly Oncology Patients
Arif TIMUROGLU, Selda MUSLU, Aysegul DANACI, Erce CAN URESIN, Suheyla UNVER
Turkish journal of Geriatrics.2024; 27(1): 118. CrossRef - Predictors of ICU mortality in patients with hemoblastosis and infectious complications
A.V. Lyanguzov, A.S. Luchinin, S.V. Ignatyev, I.V. Paramonov
Russian Journal of Anesthesiology and Reanimatology.2023; (1): 33. CrossRef - Etiologies and Outcome of Patients with Solid Tumors Admitted to ICU with Acute Respiratory Failure: A Secondary Analysis of the EFRAIM Study
Soraya Benguerfi, Guillaume Dumas, Marcio Soares, Anne-Pascale Meert, Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Frederic Pene, Philippe Bauer, Sangeeta Mehta, Victoria Metaxa, Gaston Burghi, Achille Kouatchet, Luca Montini, Djamel Mokart, Andry Van de Louw, Elie Azoulay, V
Respiratory Care.2023; 68(6): 740. CrossRef - Effect of the underlying malignancy on critically ill septic patient's outcome
Man‐Yee Man, Hoi‐Ping Shum, Sin‐Man Lam, Jacky Li, Wing‐Wa Yan, Mei‐Wan Yeung
Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology.2022; 18(4): 473. CrossRef - Impacts of Corticosteroid Therapy at Acute Stage of Hospital-Onset Clostridioides difficile Infections
Ching-Chi Lee, Jen-Chieh Lee, Chun-Wei Chiu, Pei-Jane Tsai, Wen-Chien Ko, Yuan-Pin Hung
Infection and Drug Resistance.2022; Volume 15: 5387. CrossRef - Hospital mortality and prognostic factors in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury and cancer undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy
Da Woon Kim, Geum Suk Jang, Kyoung Suk Jung, Hyuk Jae Jung, Hyo Jin Kim, Harin Rhee, Eun Young Seong, Sang Heon Song
Kidney Research and Clinical Practice.2022; 41(6): 717. CrossRef - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Evaluating Geographical Variation in Outcomes of Cancer Patients Treated in ICUs
Lama H. Nazer, Maria A. Lopez-Olivo, Anne Rain Brown, John A. Cuenca, Michael Sirimaturos, Khader Habash, Nada AlQadheeb, Heather May, Victoria Milano, Amy Taylor, Joseph L. Nates
Critical Care Explorations.2022; 4(9): e0757. CrossRef - Clinico-demographic and Outcome Predictors in Solid Tumor Patients with Unplanned Intensive Care Unit Admissions: An Observational Study
Jigeeshu Divatia, Amit M Narkhede, Harish K Chaudhari, Ujwal Dhundi, Natesh Prabu Ravisankar, Satish Sarode
Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine.2021; 25(12): 1421. CrossRef
- Pulmonary
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The Ability of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) IV Score to Predict Mortality in a Single Tertiary Hospital
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Jae Woo Choi, Young Sun Park, Young Seok Lee, Yeon Hee Park, Chaeuk Chung, Dong Il Park, In Sun Kwon, Ju Sang Lee, Na Eun Min, Jeong Eun Park, Sang Hoon Yoo, Gyu Rak Chon, Young Hoon Sul, Jae Young Moon
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Korean J Crit Care Med. 2017;32(3):275-283. Published online August 31, 2017
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2016.00990
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25,537
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Abstract
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- Background
The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II model has been widely used in Korea. However, there have been few studies on the APACHE IV model in Korean intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of this study was to compare the ability of APACHE IV and APACHE II in predicting hospital mortality, and to investigate the ability of APACHE IV as a critical care triage criterion. Methods: The study was designed as a prospective cohort study. Measurements of discrimination and calibration were performed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test respectively. We also calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). Results: The APACHE IV score, the Charlson Comorbidity index (CCI) score, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and unplanned ICU admissions were independently associated with hospital mortality. The calibration, discrimination, and SMR of APACHE IV were good (H = 7.67, P = 0.465; C = 3.42, P = 0.905; AUROC = 0.759; SMR = 1.00). However, the explanatory power of an APACHE IV score >93 alone on hospital mortality was low at 44.1%. The explanatory power was increased to 53.8% when the hospital mortality was predicted using a model that considers APACHE IV >93 scores, medical admission, and risk factors for CCI >3 coincidentally. However, the discriminative ability of the prediction model was unsatisfactory (C index <0.70). Conclusions: The APACHE IV presented good discrimination, calibration, and SMR for hospital mortality.
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Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by

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Rachel Y. Lee, Brian Douthit, Sachleen Tuteja, Patricia C. Dykes, Catherine Ivory, Po-yin Yen, Kenrick D. Cato, Sarah C. Rossetti
Journal of Patient Safety.2026;[Epub] CrossRef - Physiology and health assessment, risk balance, and model for end-stage liver disease scores: Postoperative outcome of liver transplantation
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AIDS Care.2025; 37(5): 802. CrossRef - Performance of ROX index in predicting reintubation rate of postextubation high-flow nasal cannula therapy in patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure
Suzan Salama, Doaa M. Magdy, Hamed F. Qenawy, Sahar R. Mahmoud
The Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis.2025; 74(2): 229. CrossRef - The American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification Versus Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II for Predicting Perioperative Outcomes in Surgical Patients
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International Journal of Health Sciences and Research.2025; : 192. CrossRef - DYNAMICS OF WILLEBRAND FACTOR AND APACHE II SEVERITY SCORES IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH BURN INJURIES AND SIRS WHEN USING A COMBINATION OF QUERCETIN AND POVIDONE IN INTENSIVE CARE
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Journal of Intensive Care.2021;[Epub] CrossRef - Evaluation and Validation of Four Scoring Systems: the APACHE IV, SAPS III, MPM0 II, and ICMM in Critically Ill Cancer Patients
Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine.2020; 24(4): 263. CrossRef
Case Report
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Two Cases of Postintubation Tracheoesophageal Fistula in Patients with a History of Tracheostomy: Case Report
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Seung Chan Kim, Kyung Won Ha, Joon Ho Wang, Se Jin Kim, Won Hak Kim, So Hee Jeong, Woo Sung Lee, Sang Don Han, Gyu Rak Chon
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Korean J Crit Care Med. 2009;24(2):87-91.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2009.24.2.87
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4,642
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Abstract
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- Common causes of acquired tracheoesophageal (T-E) fistula are blunt trauma on the neck or chest, malignancy, long-term mechanical ventilation, and post-intubation injury. Most of the cases are fatal due to severe respiratory infection. We experienced two cases of post-intubation T-E fistula in patients with a history of tracheostomy that developed earlier than usual. One case was caused by excessive cuff pressure and the other by avulsion injury during endotracheal intubation. We can get instructions from these cases that how to prevent T-E fistula because it is hard to treat and causes severe outcomes.
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Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by

- Occurrence of Acquired Tracheoesophageal Fistula Due to Excess Endotracheal Tube Cuff Volumes - A Case Report -
Myeong Soo Kim, Eun Jeong Koh, Ha Young Choi
Korean Journal of Critical Care Medicine.2013; 28(2): 146. CrossRef - Acquired Tracheoesophageal Fistula through Esophageal Diverticulum in Patient Who Had a Prolonged Tracheostomy Tube - A Case Report -
Jae Hwan Jung, Ji Sung Kim, Yong Kyun Kim
Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.2011; 35(3): 436. CrossRef
Randomized Controlled Trial
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Alteration of Lung Mechanics Depending on Expiratory Sensitivity (ESENS) during Pressure Support Ventilation
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Kwang Won Seo, Gyu Rak Chon, Jong Joon Ahn, Yangjin Jega, Sang Bum Hong, Chae Man Lim, Younsuck Koh
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Korean J Crit Care Med. 2006;21(1):8-16.
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Abstract
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- BACKGROUND
To evaluate effects of 5 expiratory sensitivity (ESENS) levels (5%; 15%; 25%; 35%; 45%) on lung mechanics and the effects depending on the two P(0.1) levels (<3 cm H2O; > or =3 cm H2O).
METHODS
Prospective, randomized, physiologic study for intubated adult patients during weaning from mechanical ventilation. Patients were randomly submitted to the 5 settings of ESENS in the Galileo ventilator (Galileo Gold, Hamilton Medical AG, Switzerland). Physiologic variables were continuously measured using a Bicore CP-100 pulmonary mechanics monitor (CP-100, Bicore, USA).
RESULTS
Thirteen patients, ten men and three women, with a mean age of 65.2+/-16.1 yr were studied. Tidal volume (V(T)) decreased significantly from ESENS 5% to 45%. With increasing levels of ESENS, respiratory rates (RR) steadily increased from ESENS 5% to 35% and 45%. Shallow breath index (F/V(T)) increased significantly from ESENS 5% to 45%.
Inspiratory time (T(I)) decreased gradually significantly from ESENS 5% to 45%. RR and F/V(T) increased from ESENS 5% to 15% and 45% and V(T) decreased gradually in patients with P(0.1)<3 cm H2O group, but not in patients with P(0.1)> or =3 cm H2O.
CONCLUSIONS
The proper adjustment of expiratory sensitivity (ESENS) levels improved patient-ventilator synchrony and decreased respiratory rates and shallow breath index, especially in P(0.1)<3 cm H2O during PSV in ventilator weaning patients. Lower ESENS level would be more appropriate in terms of lung mechanics in patients with less than 3 cm H2O of P(0.1).