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Related Experiment Videos

Gut function in the intensive care unit - What is 'normal'?

Tessa Heinonen1, Suzie Ferrie2, Clare Ferguson3

  • 1Nutrition & Dietetics Program, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney NSW 2006, Australia.

Australian Critical Care : Official Journal of the Confederation of Australian Critical Care Nurses
|February 13, 2019
PubMed
Summary

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This summary is machine-generated.

Intensive care unit (ICU) gut function audits reveal delayed gastric emptying and constipation are common. Patient positioning and feeding methods significantly impact gastrointestinal motility, suggesting a need to re-evaluate current management protocols.

Area of Science:

  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Gastroenterology
  • Clinical Audit

Background:

  • Intensive care unit (ICU) gut function management often relies on unverified assumptions about normal gastrointestinal (GI) motility.
  • 'Normal' GI motility in critically ill or early postoperative patients remains poorly defined.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe key aspects of gut function in current intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
  • To provide empirical data on GI motility in critical illness and early postoperative states.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective medical audit of 100 consecutive ICU patients.
  • Data collection focused on GI function parameters relevant to critically ill or postoperative populations.

Main Results:

Keywords:
ConstipationCritical illnessDiarrhoeaGastrointestinal motilityGastroparesisVomiting

Related Experiment Videos

  • Delayed gastric emptying is prevalent in the ICU, with large gastric aspirates common in enterally fed patients.
  • Patient positioning (bed angle <30°) significantly increased gastric aspirates (p=0.0002).
  • Constipation was more frequent in enterally fed versus orally fed patients (p=0.001), linked to opioid use (p=0.009). Diarrhea correlated with antibiotic use (p=0.047). First bowel motion occurred significantly later in enterally fed patients (day 4.60) compared to orally fed patients (day 2.72, p=0.0001).

Conclusions:

  • Gastrointestinal motility is frequently altered in critically ill and early postoperative patients.
  • Existing protocols for gut function management require careful interpretation to prevent unnecessary interventions or disruptions to nutritional therapy.