Factors associated with survival of patients with solid Cancer alive after intensive care unit discharge between 2005 and 2013

BACKGROUND: At intensive care unit (ICU) admission, the issue about prognosis of critically ill cancer patients is of clinical interest, especially after ICU discharge. Our objective was to assess the factors associated with 3- and 6-month survival of ICU cancer survivors. METHODS: Based on the French OutcomeRea™ database, we included solid cancer patients discharged alive, between December 2005 and November 2013, from the medical ICU of the university hospital in Grenoble, France. Patient characteristics and outcome at 3 and 6 months following ICU discharge were extracted from available database. RESULTS: Of the 361 cancer patients with unscheduled admissions, 253 (70%) were discharged alive from ICU. The main primary cancer sites were digestive (31%) and thoracic (26%). The 3- and 6-month mortality rates were 33 and 41%, respectively. Factors independently associated with 6-month mortality included ECOG performance status (ECOG-PS) of 3–4 (OR,3.74; 95%CI: 1.67–8.37), metastatic disease (OR,2.56; 95%CI: 1.34–4.90), admission for cancer progression (OR,2.31; 95%CI: 1.14–4.68), SAPS II of 45 to 58 (OR,4.19; 95%CI: 1.76–9.97), and treatment limitation decision at ICU admission (OR,4.00; 95%CI: 1.64–9.77). Interestingly, previous cancer chemotherapy prior to ICU admission was independently associated with lower 3-month mortality (OR, 0.38; 95%CI: 0.19–0.75). Among patients with an ECOG-PS 0–1 at admission, 70% (n = 66) and 61% (n = 57) displayed an ECOG-PS 0–2 at 3- and 6-months, respectively. At 3 months, 74 (55%) patients received anticancer treatment, 13 (8%) were given exclusive palliative care. CONCLUSIONS: Factors associated with 6-month mortality are almost the same as those known to be associated with ICU mortality. We highlight that most patients recovered an ECOG-PS of 0–2 at 3 and 6 months, in particular those with a good ECOG-PS at ICU admission and could benefit from an anticancer treatment following ICU discharge. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-020-07706-3.