Constipation and its implications in the critically ill patient † †An abstract of a part of this paper has been presented at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine in Rome, October 2000 (published in Intensive Care Medicine: Mostafa SM and Ritchie G. Failure to wean critically ill patients from mechanical ventilation due to constipation (A). Intensive Care Medicine 2000, 26 (Suppl. 3): S336), and at the Intensive Care Society meeting in London, December 2000 (published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia: Mostafa SM, Bhandari S, Ritchie G. Constipation and its implications in the critically ill: A National Survey of United Kingdom Intensive Care Units (A). British Journal of Anaesthesia 2001; 87: 343P).