• M Meisner, U Ernhofer, and J Schmidt.
• Klinik für Anästhesiologie und Intensivtherapie, Städtisches Krankenhaus Dresden-Neustadt, Dresden. michael.meisner@t-online.de
• Zentralbl Chir. 2008 Sep 1;133(5):479-85.

IntroductionIn this study, the recently liberalised national guidelines for preoperative fasting were evaluated from the view point of the patients and according to their clinical usability.Patients And MethodsPatients undergoing elective laparoscopic gynaecological surgery were randomised into two groups. Patients in the long-time NPO-group (LTNPO-group) had nothing per mouth after midnight whereas patients in the short-time NPO-group (STNPO-group) did not receive any oral nutrition after midnight but were allowed an unlimited intake of Pfrimmer Nutricia preOP up to 2 hours before scheduled surgery. Patients were asked to assess the incidence of 12 symptoms of perioperative discomfort prior to and 4-6 hours after surgery using a standardised questionnaire. Gastric fluid volume, vital signs during the induction period of anaesthesia and the actual duration of fasting were registered and compared.Results42 patients were included into the study (LTNPO-group: n = 23, STNPO-group: n = 19). The actual duration of fasting for solid nutritition was 11.3 h in the LTNPO-group and 10.9 h in the STNPO-group, respectively. The time of fasting for fluids was in the STNPO-group significantly shorter (4.5 h) compared to the LTNPO-group (11.3 h). The patients of the STNPO-group reported preoperatively a significant lower incidence of "feeling cold" and pre- and postoperatively of "thirst / having a dry mouth". No significant differences were reported between the groups with respect to heart rate, blood pressure, gastric volume, need of vasopressors and infusion requirements.DiscussionThe liberation of the national guidelines for preoperative fluid administration with unlimited intake of a carbohydrate drink offers the benefit of a significantly lower incidence of the preoperative item "feeling cold" and of the pre- and postoperative item "thirst / having a dry mouth". However, in daily clinical practice the length of fasting for fluids was conspicuously longer than that postulated by the new recommendations.

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