A new US study published in the journal Surgery is challenging the long-standing practice of prolonged fasting before surgical procedures.
Traditionally, patients are instructed to avoid food and liquids for several hours prior to surgery to reduce the risk of vomiting under anaesthesia. Vomiting can lead to gastric contents entering the lungs, potentially causing aspiration pneumonia.
However, the study found that clinical aspiration was not affected by various pre-procedural fasting regimens. Researchers analysed data from 17 studies involving nearly 1,800 patients and found that aspiration was rare: it occurred in 4 of 801 patients in the experimental (non-traditional fasting group) and in 7 of 990 patients in the control group who fasted per current guidelines.
“Our research suggests that long periods of fasting may not be necessary,” said the study’s senior researcher.
An additional review of over 80 published papers revealed that patients are often fasting for much longer than necessary. The researchers concluded that shorter, individualised fasting periods based on patient risk profiles may be safe and sufficient.
