Relationship Between Preoperative Time of Fasting and Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

Abstract

The study, conducted in Turkey, explored preoperative fasting in children and post operative complications. The design was prospective, comparative and descriptive. Children (n=82) between 7 and 18 who underwent general anesthesia and who, along with their parents, consented/assented, were included. The researchers note that fasting after midnight, the common practice, often resulted in very long fasting periods in children operated upon as the surgical day progressed. The length of time the child fasted was correlated with presence or absence of post operative nausea and vomiting using the Baxter BARF Scale. The findings report that the longer a child fasted, the more likely he or she was to vomit post operatively. The authors recommend a reconsideration of the potential time each child will be required to fast.