• Karan Singla, Indu Bala, Divya Jain, Neerja Bharti, and Ram Samujh.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
• Indian J Anaesth. 2020 Mar 1; 64 (3): 210-215.

Background And AimsFasting guidelines have been recommended in the paediatric population to minimise the risk of pulmonary aspiration. The present study was planned to assess the compliance with fasting instructions in children undergoing ambulatory surgery and identify the factors affecting it.MethodsA total of 1,050 ASA I and II children aged 1-12 years, scheduled for day care surgery were enrolled. Parents of these children were given a questionnaire with specific questions like fasting instructions, source of instructions, actual fasting times and reasons for not following instructions.ResultsOnly 90 (8.5%) parents followed fasting instructions as advised. Of the 960 non-compliant patients, 31 (2.9) inadequately fasted while 929 (88.4%) fasted more than advised. While only 5.2% mentioned aspiration, 25% cited vomiting as the reason for fasting. Younger parents (OR = 0.853, 95% CI-0.796 to 0.915), fasting instructions in writing (OR = 10.808, 95% CI-1.459 to 80.059) and separate instruction for solids and liquids (OR = 6.016, 95% CI- 3.663 to 9.883) were found to affect compliance with fasting instructions.ConclusionTo avoid risks of prolonged or inadequate fasting in day care surgical patients, good coordination between the anaesthetist and the surgeon and an updated knowledge about the preoperative fasting instructions among the health-care providers is essential. Separate written fasting instructions for liquids and solids should be given to the parents according to their order in the operating list to ensure better compliance with fasting instructions.Copyright: © 2020 Indian Journal of Anaesthesia.

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