Defining Acute GI Organ Failure

Several key elements were used as a starting point for defining acute GI organ failure. An organ failure was considered as a dichotomous event that is either present or absent, whereas organ dysfunction is a continuum of physiologic derangement [14 (link)]. The expression “GI dysfunction” is used to describe the large variety of GI symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting) and diagnoses (gastroenteritis) outside of the ICU setting; therefore, the expression “acute GI injury” was introduced.
Current definitions and management recommendations (according to Table 1; [15 (link)]) were developed on the basis of the available evidence and current understanding of the pathophysiology. Definitions serve as expert opinion, with their reasoning given in each “rationale” subsection.
The working method is described in detail in the electronic supplementary file.