ArticleRevista Brasileira de terapia intensiva
Incidence of constipation in an intensive care unit.
Article in Revista Brasileira de terapia intensiva. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Abdominal Massage for Preventing Acute Postoperative Constipation in Hip Fractures: A Prospective Interventional Study.Clinics in orthopedic surgery · 2023Trial
- Daily laxative therapy reduces organ dysfunction in mechanically ventilated patients: a phase II randomized controlled trial.Critical care (London, England) · 2015Trial
- Factors associated with constipation in critically ill children: A retrospective study.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026Article
- Improving Constipation in Critical Care Patients: A Single-Centre Prospective Cohort Closed-Loop Clinical Audit.Cureus · 2026Article
- Enteral Nutrition Practices and Complications in ICU Settings: A Cross-Sectional Study of Healthcare Professionals' Perspectives in Saudi Arabia.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Article
- Development and validation of a clinical score for early diagnosis of constipation in critically ill children.Scientific reports · 2023Observational
- Epidemiology of constipation in critically ill patients and its impact on in-hospital mortality: a retrospective observational study.Journal of anesthesia · 2022Observational
- Effects of Nalbuphine on Gastrointestinal Function in Post-Operative Critical Ill Patients Admitted to the ICU: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Analgesia in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Review
- Early or Late Feeding after ICU Admission?Nutrients · 2017Review
- Risk factors for late defecation and its association with the outcomes of critically ill patients: a retrospective observational study.Journal of intensive care · 2016Article
- Standardized application of laxatives and physical measures in neurosurgical intensive care patients improves defecation pattern but is not associated with lower intracranial pressure.Critical care research and practice · 2014Article
- Constipation in critically ill patients: much more than we imagine.Revista Brasileira de terapia intensivaArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo evaluate the incidence of constipation in critical patients on enteral nutrition in a hospital intensive care unit and to correlate this incidence with the variables found for critical patients.
methodsThe present investigation was a retrospective analytical study conducted in the intensive care unit of Hospital Regional da Asa Norte (DF) via the analysis of medical records of patients admitted during the period from January to December 2011. Data on the incidence of constipation and enteral nutritional support, gastrointestinal changes, stool frequency, ventilatory support, and outcomes were collected and analyzed.
resultsThe initial sample consisted of 127 patients admitted to the unit during the period from January to December 2011. Eighty-four patients were excluded, and the final sample consisted of 43 patients. The incidence of constipation, defined as no bowel movement during the first 4 days of hospitalization, was 72% (n=31). The patients were divided into a control group and a constipated group. The group of constipated patients reached the caloric target, on average, at 6.5 days, and the control group reached the caloric target in 5.6 days (p=0.51). Constipation was not associated with the length of hospital stay, suspension of nutritional support, or outcome of hospitalization. There was an association between evacuation during hospitalization and a longer duration of hospitalization for a subgroup of patients who did not evacuate during the entire period (p=0.009).
conclusionThe incidence of constipation in the unit studied was 72%. Only the absence of evacuation during hospitalization was associated with longer hospital stays. Constipation was not associated with the length of hospital stay, suspension of nutritional support, or outcome of hospitalization.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.