Gastrointestinal complications in intensive care

Gastrointestinal (GI) complications are prevalent and severe clinical challenges encountered in critically ill patients. They are closely linked to disease progression, increased morbidity and mortality, and escalating healthcare expenses. This comprehensive review summarizes the epidemiology of GI complications in critically ill patients, elucidating the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms including hemodynamic alterations, inflammatory cascades, neuro-endocrine dysregulation, and gut microbiota imbalance. It confers distinctive clinical manifestations and effective diagnostic approaches. Therapeutic strategies, encompassing nutritional support, pharmacological management, and surgical or interventional procedures will be discussed. The review also briefly introduces the concept of the "gut-organ axis," emphasizing how intestinal barrier disruption and dysbiosis can disseminate inflammatory and metabolic signals to distant organs such as the lungs, liver, kidneys, and brain, thereby underscoring the need for clinicians to recognize systemic effects. In essence, prompt identification and multimodal intervention are pivotal for optimizing outcomes in critically ill patients; judiciously addressing GI complications in clinical decision-making can mitigate morbidity and enhance both short-term and long-term prognosis.