1. Description of the problem What every clinician needs to know Majority of acute pancreatitis is mild to intermediate in severity; however, almost 20% can be severe with multi-system organ dysfunction within hours to days of presentation, with upward of 30% mortality for infected necrotizing pancreatitis. Key to management is early identification of those patients…
Ileus defined as nonmechanical obstruction of bowel usually secondary to inhibition of peristalsis. Small bowel obstruction defined as mechanical obstruction of small bowel due to adhesions, mass, volvulus or other internal or external compression. Continue Reading Synonyms Ileus: paralytic ileus, adynamic ileus, non mechanical obstruction, intestinal pseudo obstruction Small bowel obstruction: mechanical ileus, obstructive ileus,…
ABDOMINAL PAIN IN THE ICU 1. Description of the problem Abdominal pain in the ICU patient can be a difficult complaint to investigate because the clinician must determine the extent of the discomfort and whether it portends a serious problem. ICU patients are mostly intubated and sedated and are often postoperative, so determining the significance…
