• S M Mostafa, S Bhandari, G Ritchie, N Gratton, and R Wenstone.
• Intensive Therapy Unit, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Prescot Street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, UK. Fred.Mostafa@rlbuht.nhs.uk
• Br J Anaesth. 2003 Dec 1; 91 (6): 815-9.

BackgroundMotility of the lower gut has been little studied in intensive care patients.MethodWe prospectively studied constipation in an intensive care unit of a university hospital, and conducted a national survey to assess the generalizability of our findings.ResultsConstipation occurred in 83% of the patients. More constipated patients (42.5%) failed to wean from mechanical ventilation than non-constipated patients (0%), P<0.05. The median length of stay in intensive care and the proportion of patients who failed to feed enterally were greater in constipated than non-constipated patients (10 vs 6.5 days and 27.5 vs 12.5%, respectively (NS)). The survey found similar observations in other units. Delays in weaning from mechanical ventilation and enteral feeding were reported by 28 and 48% of the units surveyed, respectively.ConclusionsConstipation has implications for the critically ill.

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