ArticleJournal of the Intensive Care Society2020
Diarrhoea in critical care is rarely infective in origin, associated with increased length of stay and higher mortality.
Article in Journal of the Intensive Care Society, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The safety and efficacy of probiotic supplementation for critically ill adult patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nutrition reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Gastrointestinal Tolerance toIndian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2026Article
- The association between defecation frequency and mortality in critically ill patients with suspected sepsis in Israel.Acute and critical care · 2025Article
- Bioactivity-guided isolation of potential antidiarrheal constituents fromFrontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Probiotic prophylaxis to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in children on mechanical ventilation: A randomized double-blind clinical trial.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Article
- The Seventh Organ-Gastrointestinal Tract: Neglect at Your Own Peril!Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Diarrhoea, defined as > 3 loose or liquid stools per day, affects 9.7-41% of intensive care unit patients, negatively impacting on patient dignity, intensifying nursing workload and increasing morbidity. Its pathogenesis is poorly understood, but infective agents, intensive care unit therapies (such as enteral feed) and critical illness changes in the gut microbiome are thought to play a role. We analysed a consecutive cohort of 3737 patients admitted to a mixed general intensive care unit. Diarrhoea prevalence was lower than previously reported (5.3%), rarely infective in origin (6.5%) and associated with increased length of stay (median (inter-quartile range) 2.3 (1.0-5.0) days vs. 10 days (5.0-22.0), p < 0.001, sub-distribution hazard ratio 0.55 (95% CI 0.48-0.63), p < 0.001) and mortality (9.5% vs. 18.1%, p = 0.005, sub-distribution hazard ratio 1.20 (95% CI 0.79-1.81), p = 0.40), compared to patients without diarrhoea. In addition, 17.1% of patients received laxatives <24 h prior to diarrhoea onset. Further research on diarrhoea's pathogenesis in critical care is required; robust treatment protocols, investigation rationalisation and improved laxative prescribing may reduce its incidence and improve related outcomes.
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.