Hospital Outcomes for Patients with Stage III and IV Lung Cancer Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for Sepsis-Related Acute Respiratory Failure

Background: In recent years, intensive care for cancer patients has improved and treatment of critically ill cancer patients has become increasingly aggressive over time. However, not all cancer patients would benefit from aggressive care, especially those with late-stage cancer. Objective: We aimed to investigate the outcome of late-stage lung cancer patients with sepsis-related respiratory failure and identify predictors of mortality. Methods: From 2007 to 2008, consecutive stage III and IV lung cancer patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) of a teritiary medical center in Taiwan for sepsis-related respiratory failure were retrospectively enrolled. Data at baseline and upon ICU admission were collected. In-hospital survival was analyzed. Variables of the survivors to hospital discharge and patients who died were compared by uni- and multivariate analyses. Results: Seventy patients were enrolled. During a mean follow-up period of 30.10 days, 29 (41.4%) patients survived to hospital discharge and 41(58.6%) died. Compared with the survivors, the patients who died had poor performance status, lower serum albumin level, higher percentage of disseminated intravascular coagulation, and more severe organ dysfunction as disclosed by higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores. Multivariate analyses revealed that SOFA score (p = 0.026) was the only independent predictor of mortality; 44.8 % (13/29) of survivors were weaned from ventilator during hospitalization. Conclusion: Among late-stage lung cancer patients with sepsis-related respiratory failure, those with lower SOFA scores seemed to have better survival rate and may benefit from intensive care in the ICU. Early palliative care should be considered for all patients with advanced lung cancer, and hospice care is suggested for those with sepsis-respiratory failure and high SOFA scores.