As any parent knows, a hungry kid is a cranky kid. So having a child fast before surgery can exacerbate anxiety and restlessness the pre-op area. A Turkish study published this month in the World Journal of Gastroenterology reports that children can consume liquids up to 2 hours before surgery with little risk of aspiration.
Children who had liquid food 2 hours before surgery had the same amount of gastric residue (1 to 2 ml) and similar blood glucose levels and blood pre-albumin levels as those who had fasted for 3 and 5 hours before surgery. Children who fasted 4 hours before surgery had lower blood glucose levels, report the researchers at the Meram Medical School of Selcuk University in Konya, Turkey.
The research group studied 80 children between the ages of one and 10 who had hernia repair surgery or an orchidopexy procedure to descend testicles. The children were divided into groups that received liquid nutritional supplements at 2, 3, 4, and 5 hours before surgery. In the OR, the anesthesia provider, who did not know when the child had been fed last, suctioned the stomach contents from each child. The amount of residue liquid in the stomach was acceptable for surgery in each case. Additionally, there was no coughing, laryngospasm, vomiting or aspiration in any of the cases, report the authors.
"Clear lipids appear to add no additional risk for aspiration of gastric contents in normal healthy children, and may provide some psychological benefit, as demonstrated by a decrease in irritability before induction of anesthesia," write the authors. "Partial feeding in the immediate (up to 2 hours before pre-medication) pre-operative period may become routine in the future."
Kent Steinriede
