Murphy PB, et al. - A prospective observational study was performed to ascertain the prevalence of intra-abdominal hypertension in mixed medical-surgical critically ill patients using modern definitions and measurement techniques and to determine variables associated with intra-abdominal hypertension and ICU mortality. Researchers reported that intra-abdominal hypertension was common in both surgical and nonsurgical patients in the intensive care setting and was found to be independently correlated with mortality. They suggested that intra-abdominal pressure monitoring was inexpensive, provides valuable clinical information, and there could be a role for its routine measurement in the ICU.