Skip Navigation



BJA Advance Access published online on March 11, 2005
British Journal of Anaesthesia, doi:10.1093/bja/aei117
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
94/6/763    most recent
aei117v1
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ravishankar, N.
Right arrow Articles by Hunter, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ravishankar, N.
Right arrow Articles by Hunter, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2005. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journal.permissions@oupjournals.org
Accepted January 24, 2005

Clinical Investigation

Measurement of intra-abdominal pressure in intensive care units in the United Kingdom: a national postal questionnaire study{dagger}

N. Ravishankar 1 and J. Hunter 2*

1 Department of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Gloucester Royal Hospital, Gloucester GL1 3NN, UK
2 Department of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Macclesfield District General Hospital, Macclesfield SK10 3BL, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Hunter, E-mail: john.hunter{at}echeshire-tr.nwest.nhs.uk


  Abstract

Background. To explore the attitudes of intensivists in the UK to intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) measurement and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) and to determine current practice.

Methods. A postal questionnaire study addressed to the lead clinician in the intensive care unit was sent to hospitals in the UK with a general surgical service.

Results. Completed questionnaires were received from 137 of the 207 hospitals surveyed (66.2% response rate). Only 1.5% of the respondents (n=2) had no prior knowledge of intra-abdominal hypertension and ACS. IAP had been measured on some occasion by 75.9% (n=104) of the respondents, always by the intravesical route. Among those intensive care units that measured IAP, in 93.2% (n=97) it was only measured when there was a suspicion of the development of ACS; 3.8% of units (n=4) measured IAP on all patients who had undergone an emergency laparotomy, and 2.9% (n=3) measured IAP only in those who had undergone emergency laparotomy associated with massive fluid resuscitation. There was major disparity in the frequency of IAP measurement and when to recommend abdominal decompression.

Conclusions. Despite widespread awareness of IAH and the ACS, many intensive care units never measure the IAP. When it is measured, the intravesical route is used exclusively. No consensus exists on optimal timing of measurement or when decompressive laparotomy should be performed.

Keywords: abdomen, intra-abdominal pressure; complications, abdominal compartment syndrome; complications, intra-abdominal hypertension.
{dagger} Presented in part at the Association of Anaesthetists Annual Congress, Cardiff, September, 2004.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 TraumaHome page
R. Searle, T. Wenham, and J. Garner
Abdominal compartment syndrome -- the new killer
Trauma, April 1, 2009; 11(2): 111 - 121.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Postgrad. Med. J.Home page
J D Hunter
Abdominal compartment syndrome: an under-diagnosed contributory factor to morbidity and mortality in the critically ill
Postgrad. Med. J., June 1, 2008; 84(992): 293 - 298.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Emerg. Med. J.Home page
S E Harrisson, J E Smith, A W Lambert, and M J Midwinter
Abdominal compartment syndrome: an emergency department perspective
Emerg. Med. J., March 1, 2008; 25(3): 128 - 132.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J AnaesthHome page
D. Turnbull, S. Webber, C. H. Hamnegard, and G. H. Mills
Intra-abdominal pressure measurement: validation of intragastric pressure as a measure of intra-abdominal pressure
Br. J. Anaesth., May 1, 2007; 98(5): 628 - 634.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BMJHome page
J. S Bewley
Acute renal failure: beware development of abdominal compartment syndrome.
BMJ, October 28, 2006; 333(7574): 917 - 918.
[Full Text]

Home page
 Br J AnaesthHome page
E. Vivier, O. Metton, V. Piriou, F. Lhuillier, J. M. Cottet-Emard, P. Branche, S. Duperret, and J. P. Viale
Effects of increased intra-abdominal pressure on central circulation
Br. J. Anaesth., June 1, 2006; 96(6): 701 - 707.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.