| الوصف: |
Introduction: Constipation is a common complication in critically ill patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU) due to some triggering factors such as: bed limitation, use of sedatives and opioids, vasoactive drugs, inflammatory mediators, etc. to a worse prognosis. Methods: A quantitative and descriptive study was conducted on adults of both genders hospitalized in the ICU of a university hospital from March to December 2018. Variables were collected from evaluation and nutritional monitoring forms, including: gender, age, length of ICU hospitalization, date of discharge or death. The presence of intestinal constipation (absence of bowel movements> three days) was evaluated. After collection, the data were tabulated in Microsoft Excel software spreadsheets and later analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 13.0, and the chi-square test was used for statistical difference (p 0.05). Most patients had low nutritional risk (61.5%), however, those with high nutritional risk (38.5%) had a greater tendency to constipation, but this relationship was not statistically confirmed (p> 0.05). Conclusion: A high frequency of constipation was found in critically ill patients. Constipation appears to be associated with a worse prognosis in critically ill patients and is essential to identify and treat. Given this result, it is necessary to create protocols and action plans for the prevention and treatment of this disorder in intensive care units. |