Intra-abdominal Hypertension and its Outcome in Patients Admitted in Surgical ICU after Laparotomy

Objective: To assess the frequency of intra-abdominal hypertension and its relationship with outcomes among patients of laparotomy admitted to the intensive care unit. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital ,Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Apr to Sep 2021. Methodology: Two-hundred patients who underwent laparotomy admitted to the intensive care unit of Combined Military Hospital were recruited in our study. Intra-abdominal pressure was measured after every 8 hours for 72 hours after admission to the intensive care unit. In addition, patients were followed up for two weeks from admission in the intensive care unit to assess the outcome. Results: Out of two hundred patients, 150(75%) had good outcomes, while 50(25%) had poor outcomes. The mean age of patients who underwent the surgery was 40.63±9.448 years. 171(85.5%) patients did not have raised intra-abdominal pressure, while 29(14.5%) had intra-abdominal hypertension. High Body mass index and poor outcome had a significant association with the presence and severity of intra-abdominal hypertension among study participants (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: Considerable number of patients had intra-abdominal hypertension during their stay in the critical care unit after laparotomy. A high grade of intra-abdominal hypertension was associated with poor outcomes in our study participants.