Abstract
Preoperative fasting is a routine that aims to secure an empty stomach by the time of induction of anesthesia in order to reduce the risk of regurgitation of acid gastric content that may flow into the lungs and cause dangerous chemical pneumonia. Based on studies of gastric emptying of various foods and drinks, recent guidelines for elective surgery recommend that while solid food should not be taken within 6 h prior to induction of anesthesia, intake of clear liquids can be recommended to most patients until 2 h before anesthesia. Although this makes perfect sense to any health professional having studied the physiology of gastric emptying and/or fluid absorption and metabolism, this guideline is probably one of the most underused worldwide today. The reason for this is likely to be historic. But it may also relate to the reluctance of the medical community to change habits from traditional ways to evidence-based practice and the ease of sticking to a rule that is simple and well known.
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Ljungqvist, O. (2015). Preoperative Fasting and Carbohydrate Treatment. In: Feldman, L., Delaney, C., Ljungqvist, O., Carli, F. (eds) The SAGES / ERAS® Society Manual of Enhanced Recovery Programs for Gastrointestinal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20364-5_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20364-5_4
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