ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: There is little data in the literature on the management of patients presenting with a primary broncho-pulmonary cancer in a reanimation unit. The aim of our study was to describe and analyze the prognostic factors of such a population. METHOD: This was a retrospective study of all the patients exhibiting a broncho-pulmonary cancer and admitted to the reanimation unit in the Gustave-Roussy Institute over a period of three years. RESULTS: Out of 67 patients, one out of two was still alive following reanimation. The prognosis was not influenced by the type of broncho-pulmonary cancer or its stage of progression, but essentially depends on the age, severity on admission, presence of acute respiratory failure and the necessity of using mechanical ventilation. The prognosis does not appear poorer when admission to the reanimation unit was related to a tumoral complication rather than an intercurrent affection or therapeutic complication. CONCLUSION: The existence of a broncho-pulmonary cancer, even at an advanced stage, does not appear to stall the management of such patients in reanimation.