Intensive care in anticancer centres: an international inquiry.

Intensive care is increasingly frequently used in the management of cancer patients. In order to determine whether and how critical-care facilities are used specifically for these patients, we performed a world-wide inquiry in anticancer centres. We mailed a questionnaire to 141 centres and received 84 responses (57.5%). There was at least one oncological intensive care-unit (ICU) in 59 hospitals (70%). The majority of the ICU were found in the European institutions. Data were obtained concerning the ICU organisation, the medical team, the nursing staff, the critical-care techniques and the anticancer treatments performed. Medical ICU appeared to be managed by physicians and nurses often qualified in both intensive care and oncology. These data suggest that oncological intensive care should be part of the training of oncologists and intensivists.