Search

This review discusses the evolution of preoperative fasting guidelines and examines the incidence of pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents and suggested treatments. Nine guidelines developed by professional societies and published in peer-reviewed journals since 1994 were identified. The recommendations on preoperative fasting for various categories have undergone only small adaptations in the following three decades in pediatric anesthesia. We found twelve published studies of the incidence of pulmonary aspiration, which ranges from 0.6 to 12 in 10,000 anesthetics in children. However, this variation reflects differences in the definition of aspiration as well as differences in study design. The main risk factors identified are emergency surgery, ASA physical status, and patient age. Several additional risk factors have been suggested, including non-compliance to fasting guidelines. The duration of clear fluid fasting is not associated with an increased risk of pulmonary aspiration which may be reflected in future guideline updates in pediatric anesthesia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Current paediatric anaesthetic fasting guidelines have recommended conservative fasting regimes for many years and have not altered much in the last decades. Recent publications have employed more liberal fasting regimes with no evidence of increased aspiration or regurgitation rates. In this first solely paediatric European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) pre-operative fasting guideline, we aim to present aggregated and evidence-based summary recommendations to assist clinicians, healthcare providers, patients and parents. We identified six main topics for the literature search: studies comparing liberal with conservative regimens; impact of food composition; impact of comorbidity; the use of gastric ultrasound as a clinical tool; validation of gastric ultrasound for gastric content and gastric emptying studies; and early postoperative feeding. The literature search was performed by a professional librarian in collaboration with the ESAIC task force. Recommendations for reducing clear fluid fasting to 1 h, reducing breast milk fasting to 3 h, and allowing early postoperative feeding were the main results, with GRADE 1C or 1B evidence. The available evidence suggests that gastric ultrasound may be useful for clinical decision-making, and that allowing a 'light breakfast' may be well tolerated if the intake is well controlled. More research is needed in these areas as well as evaluation of how specific patient or treatment-related factors influence gastric emptying., (Copyright © 2021 European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.)

Perioperative fasting guidelines are designed to minimize the risk of pulmonary aspiration of gastrointestinal contents. The current recommendations from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) are for a minimum 2-hour fast after ingestion of clear liquids before general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, or procedural sedation and analgesia. Nonetheless, in children, fasting guidelines also have consequences as regards to child and parent satisfaction, hemodynamic stability, the ability to achieve vascular access, and perioperative energy balance. Despite the fact that current guidelines recommend a relatively short fasting time for clear fluids of 2 hours, the actual duration of fasting time can be significantly longer. This may be the result of deficiencies in communication regarding the duration of the ongoing fasting interval as the schedule changes in a busy operating room as well as to poor parent and patient adherence to the 2-hour guidelines. Prolonged fasting can result in children arriving in the operating room for an elective procedure being thirsty, hungry, and generally in an uncomfortable state. Furthermore, prolonged fasting may adversely affect hemodynamic stability and can result in parental dissatisfaction with the perioperative experience. In this PRO and CON presentation, the authors debate the premise that reducing the nominal minimum fasting time from 2 hours to 1 hour can reduce the incidence of prolonged fasting and provide significant benefits to children, with no increased risks., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 International Anesthesia Research Society.)

Background: A light breakfast has been found to empty from the stomach within 4 hours in healthy volunteers., Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether a light breakfast of yoghurt or gruel empties from the stomach within 4 hours, in children scheduled for general anaesthesia., Method: In this observational cohort study, children aged 1-6 years scheduled for elective general anaesthesia were prescribed free intake of yoghurt or gruel 4 hours prior to induction. They were subsequently examined with gastric ultrasound within 4 hours of ingestion. In case of gastric contents, the gastric antral area was measured, and gastric content volume (GCV) was calculated., Results: Twenty children were included in the study and the ingested amount of gruel or yoghurt ranged 2.5-25 mL kg -1 . In 15 cases, the stomach was empty with juxtaposed walls and no further measurements were made. In four cases, there was fluid present in the stomach, but the calculated gastric contents were <0.5 mL kg -1 . One patient had solids in the stomach, and GCV in this patient was calculated to 2.1 mL kg -1 . The patient with solids present had ingested 25 mL kg -1 of gruel 4 hours prior to assessment. The planned procedure was therefore delayed 1 hour. There were no cases of pulmonary aspiration or vomiting., Conclusion: A light breakfast 4 hours prior to induction may be considered, but there is need for further studies on safe limits for the volume ingested., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

International guidelines for paediatric elective preoperative fasting currently recommend a 2 hour limit for clear fluids. Recent reports on gastric emptying time, pulmonary aspiration incidence and the negative effects of fasting have led to a new consensus statement by the European Society of Paediatric Anaesthesia, recommending a 1-hour limit for clear fluids. A multicentre audit of the incidence of aspiration with the new fasting regimens is still needed.

Purpose of Review: Study after study shows that prolonged fasting before anesthesia is common in children. Pediatric anesthesiologists around the world are concerned that the current guidelines may be part of the problem. This review focuses on what can be done about it., Recent Findings: We discuss new insights into the physiology of gastric emptying of different categories of food and drink. The evidence for negative effects of prolonged fasting occurring in spite of implementation of the current guidelines is examined. We also critically appraise the concept of a strict association between fasting time and the risk of aspiration and discuss recent studies in which children have been allowed clear fluids less than 2 h before anesthesia induction., Summary: Accumulating evidence indicates that changes of the current guidelines for preoperative fasting should be considered for children undergoing elective procedures. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Background: Children often starve for longer than recommended by current preoperative fasting guidelines., Aims: We studied the effects of implementing a more lenient fasting regimen on the duration of clear fluid fasting, as well as the incidence of extended fasting in children., Methods: Preoperative duration of clear fluid fasting was recorded for patients scheduled for procedures in a unit applying the standard 6-4-2 fasting regimen. This group was compared with a cohort in the same unit 1 year after transitioning to a 6-4-0 fasting regimen. The latter includes no limitations on clear fluid intake until the child is called to theater. A third cohort from a unit in which the 6-4-0 fasting regimen has been implemented for over a decade was also studied for comparison., Results: Patients fasting according to the 6-4-2 fasting regimen (n = 66) had a median fasting time for clear fluids of 4.0 h and a 33.3% incidence of fasting more than 6 h. After transitioning to the 6-4-0 fasting regimen (n = 64), median duration of fasting for clear fluids decreased to 1.0 h, and the incidence of fasting more than 6 h decreased to 6.3%. In the second unit (n = 73), median fasting time was 2.2 h and the proportion of patients fasting more than 6 h was 21.9%., Conclusion: The introduction and implementation of the 6-4-0 fasting regimen reduces median fluid fasting duration and the number of children subjected to extended fasting., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: International guidelines recommend 2 h of clear fluid fasting prior to general anesthesia. The pediatric anesthesia unit of Uppsala University Hospital has been implementing a more liberal fasting regime for more than a decade; thus, children scheduled for elective procedures are allowed to drink clear fluids until called to the operating suite., Aim: To determine the incidence of perioperative pulmonary aspiration in pediatric patients allowed unlimited intake of clear fluids prior to general anesthesia., Method: Elective pediatric procedures between January 2008 and December 2013 were examined retrospectively by reviewing anesthesia charts and discharge notes in the electronic medical record system. All notes from the care event and available chest x-rays were examined for cases showing vomiting, regurgitation, and/or aspiration. Pulmonary aspiration was defined as radiological findings consistent with aspiration and/or postoperative symptoms of respiratory distress after vomiting during anesthesia., Results: Of the 10,015 pediatric anesthetics included, aspiration occurred in three (0.03% or 3 in 10,000) cases. No case required cancellation of the surgical procedure, intensive care or ventilation support, and no deaths attributable to aspiration were found. Pulmonary aspiration was suspected, but not confirmed by radiology or continuing symptoms, in an additional 14 cases., Conclusion: Shortened fasting times may improve the perioperative experience for parents and children with a low risk of aspiration., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)