Key result
A narrative review highlights continued poor compliance with evidence-based preoperative fasting guidelines, with fasting from midnight remaining the norm despite side effects.
Why the study?
Despite evidence-based guidelines outlining safe preoperative fasting durations, common practice unnecessarily starves patients, leading to perioperative complications.
Despite evidence-based guidelines, prolonged preoperative fasting from midnight remains common practice, leading to unnecessary patient discomfort and complications.
Persistent non-compliance with fasting guidelines should not yet change practice; leaves open research on implementation barriers.
Preoperative fasting is necessary in reducing the risk of aspiration of stomach contents when undergoing a procedure that requires anaesthesia. There are numerous guidelines based upon evidence-based practice that outline the safe duration of a fast prior to the induction of anaesthesia. Common practice however is to give advice that unnecessarily starves the patient leading to perioperative complications. There is a breadth of literature analysing the fasting durations of various institutions, with a consensus of fasting from midnight being the norm, and side effects of nausea and dehydration being unfortunate by-products of fasting. A review of the literature examines the continued poor compliance of evidenced-based practice.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
E. F. King (2019) conducted a review in Adult elective surgical patients. Preoperative fasting was evaluated. A narrative review highlights continued poor compliance with evidence-based preoperative fasting guidelines, with fasting from midnight remaining the norm despite side effects.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: