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Abstract
Background: The emergency department is a section of an institution that is staffed and equipped to provide
rapid and varied emergency care, especially for those who are stricken with sudden and acute illness or who are the
victims of severe health problem. Oncology patients in the emergency department are causing a significant burden
for health care system due to the late seeking of care by the cancer patient to the Hospital at an advanced stage.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the black lion Specialized Hospital. A one-year data was
abstracted of 426 cancer diagnosed patients. The extraction was done from April 1 to April 30, 2017. Data
abstraction format was developed based on the nature of the record.
Result: Four hundred twenty-six oncology patients record were analyzed. The mean age was 42.5 years.
Gastrointestinal cancer 128 (30%) was the most common cancer type followed by Hematologic 81 (19%) cancer.
Based on symptoms the common complaints were a pain (14.8%), Easily Fatigability (11.7%), Dysphagia (11.5%)
and Bleeding (10.8%).
Conclusions: The common types of cancer diagnosed at the emergency department were Gastro-intestinal and
Hematology malignancies. The pain was the predominant complain among oncology patient present in an
emergency department. Most of the cancer patients present in the emergency department are due to the effect of
the tumor, one-tenth of the patient died while receiving care.