Determining small intestinal transit time and pathomorphology in critically ill patients using video capsule technology

• Published in: Intensive care medicine Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 1054 - 1059
• Main Authors: Rauch, Stefan, Krueger, Kristine, Turan, Alparslan, Roewer, Norbert, Sessler, Daniel I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.06.2009; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abdomen; Abdominal surgery; Adult; Aged; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Anesthesiology; Biological and medical sciences; Bowel disease; Capsule Endoscopes; Case-Control Studies; Clinical death. Palliative care. Organ gift and preservation; Critical care; Critical Care Medicine; Critical Illness; Emergency Medicine; Endoscopy; Enteral nutrition; Female; Gastrointestinal Motility - physiology; Glasgow Coma Scale; Humans; Intensive; Intensive care; Intensive care medicine; Intestine, Small - physiology; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Morphology; Motility; Nutrition; Original; Pain Medicine; Parenteral nutrition; Pathology; Patients; Pediatrics; Pneumology/Respiratory System; Prospective Studies; Traumatic brain injury; Ulcers; Visualization; United States > US; Israel; Critical care; Enteral nutrition; Transit time; Capsule endoscopy; PillCam; Human; Intensive care; Digestive system; Critically ill; Gut; PiliCam; Resuscitation; Enteral administration
• ISSN: 0342-4642; 1432-1238; 1432-1238
• DOI: 10.1007/s00134-009-1415-6

Purpose Gastrointestinal motility can be impaired by serious illness or medications, compromising enteral feeding in critical care patients. We compared small bowel transit time and morphology in neurosurgical critical care (ICU) patients with those in healthy subjects. Methods We evaluated small intestinal transit time, quality of visualization and intestinal morphology in 16 ICU patients (Glasgow Coma Scale score from 6 to 14) and 16 healthy ambulatory patients. Video data were obtained with PillCam SB capsules (Given Imaging Ltd., Yoqneam, Israel). Results Transit time was 5.1 h (3.9–7.7) (median [IQR]) in ICU and 4.3 (4.1–5.3 h) in ambulatory patients ( P  = 0.481). Six ICU patients (37%) and two ambulatory patients (12%) had pathological findings (ulcers, petechia, erosions) ( P  = 0.10). Conclusions Median small bowel transit times in critically ill neurosurgical patients were similar to those in ambulatory subjects, although transit times were more variable in the critically ill patients.