Use of a Mixed Agent Prophylactic Laxative Regimen in the Medical Intensive Care Unit Leads to Reduced Length of Stay: A Single-Center Process Improvement Initiative

Abstract

Impaired GI tract function is a common and often underappreciated symptom in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). The most visible manifestation of this dysfunction is reduced bowel movements. The occurrence of impaired GI function is associated, both independently and in association with delayed enteral feeding, with increased length of stay, morbidity and mortality. We report on a process implementation project conducted at a single academic center designed to: (I) increase visibility of bowel movement charting and (II) transition from a reactive to a proactive laxative administration regimen for prophylaxis against MICU associated constipation. Scheduled laxatives, polyethylene glycol and sennoside-docusate, were added to the MICU admission orderset and bowel movement charting was moved to a more readily accessible flowsheet in the electronic medical record. Six months of pre-intervention and post-intervention admissions to the MICU were reviewed to determine patient demographics, admitting diagnosis, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, laxative utilization, and time to first bowel movement. Following implementation of these changes, prophylactic laxative utilization significantly increased (p < .001) driven largely by the agents included in the orderset. This was associated with a decrease in MICU length of stay by an average of 21 h (p = .006) and median time to first bowel movement by 4 h (p = .026), but no changes in incidence of impaired transit (as defined by greater than 72 h without a bowel movement). This data represents an exciting first step in the use of mixed agent prophylactic laxative regimens.