Abdominal signs and symptoms in intensive care patients

Abdominal problems, both as a primary reason for admission or developing as a part of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome during an ICU stay, are common in critically ill patients. The definitions, assessment, incidence and outcome of different abdominal signs, symptoms and syndromes are assessed in the current review. General abdominal signs and symptoms include abdominal pain and distension, as well as other signs assessed during the physical examination (e.g. palpation, percussion). Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms include vomiting, high gastric residual volumes, diarrhoea, GI bleeding, paralysis of the lower GI tract, bowel dilatation and absent bowel sounds. Although around half of patients suffer from these symptoms, the reported incidences of single symptoms vary within a large range due to variable definitions and case-mix. In a few studies, the total number of coincident GI symptoms was associated with increased mortality. Although acute abdomen is a well-recognized severe syndrome in emergency medicine, its incidence in ICUs is not known. Next to subjective clinical evaluation, intra-abdominal pressure, as a reproducible numerical variable, provides useful assistance in the assessment of the abdominal compartment, whereas intra-abdominal hypertension has been shown to impair the outcome of the critically ill. In conclusion, abdominal symptoms occur in half of patients in ICUs. Clinical evaluation, albeit largely subjective, remains the main bedside tool to detect abdominal problems and to assess GI function in the critically ill. IAP is a useful additional tool in the assessment of abdominal complications in ICUs.