title: [Correlation between gastrointestinal dysfunction and both severity and prognosis in patients suffering from heatstroke].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between gastrointestinal dysfunction and both severity and prognosis in patients with heatstroke ( HS ).
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was conducted. Clinical data from 39 patients with HS seeking for treatment in Department of Critical Care Medicine of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2013 to September 2014 were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups: gastrointestinal dysfunction group and non-gastrointestinal dysfunction group. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II ( APACHEII) score within 24 hours of admission and 28-day mortality were compared between two groups. In gastrointestinal dysfunction group, the gastrointestinal dysfunction score, the duration days of gastrointestinal dysfunction, the length of intensive care unit ( ICU ) stay, and the duration of mechanical ventilation were collected. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between gastrointestinal function and the severity of the ailment as well as the prognosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 39 patients with HS, 32 of them showed gastrointestinal dysfunction with an incidence of 82.05%. In gastrointestinal dysfunction group, the gastrointestinal dysfunction score was 2.3±0.8, the duration of gastrointestinal dysfunction was ( 17.3±15.2 ) days, the length of ICU stay was ( 37.8±25.0 ) days, and the duration of mechanical ventilation was ( 27.8±14.0 ) days. APACHEII score in gastrointestinal dysfunction group was significantly higher than that of the non-gastrointestinal dysfunction group ( 26.30±6.00 vs. 17.40±6.00, t = 3.555, P = 0.001 ). The 28-day mortality in gastrointestinal dysfunction group was slightly higher than that of the non-gastrointestinal dysfunction group without statistically significant difference [ 43.75% ( 14/32 ) vs. 14.29% ( 1/7 ), P = 0.216 ]. It was shown by Pearson analysis that gastrointestinal dysfunction score was positively correlated with APACHEII score ( r = 0.727, P = 0.000 ), and the duration of gastrointestinal dysfunction was positively correlated with the length of ICU stay ( r = 0.797, P = 0.000 ) and the duration of mechanical ventilation ( r = 0.634, P = 0.000 ).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that gastrointestinal function in patients with HS reflects the severity and prognosis of the ailment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China. Corresponding author: Song Qing, Email: songqing3010301@sina.com.
authors.forename: Lihui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Feihu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hongjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Jiekun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jiajia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Jingjiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D018806:APACHE; D002681:China; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018883:Heat Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay; D011379:Prognosis; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D012189:Retrospective Studies