The authors discuss the unique nursing care needs in the pediatric intensive care unit of children who have continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis is a terminal stage of cancer in which multiple metastatic tumor nodules carpet the peritoneal surfaces of the abdomen and pelvis. Tumor cells are typically seeded to the peritoneum from primary digestive tract or gynecological neoplasms, and usually the metastases remain confined to the abdominopelvic cavity. Patients have abdominal pain and ascites. The mechanism of spread of the nodules is not well understood, but they can grow on the peritoneal lining and encase adjacent organs. Historically, adults with carcinomatosis have survived only a few months1 despite surgery and systemic chemotherapy and have succumbed to bowel obstruction caused by enlarging tumors.

Cytoreductive surgery (removal of all visible disease to 1 cm2 or less of remaining tumor) followed by continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion (CHPP) with chemotherapeutic...

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