Children who undergo surgery are usually asked to stop eating and drinking for several hours before anesthesia to reduce the risk of stomach contents entering the lungs. However, long fasting times may cause discomfort, dehydration, low blood sugar, and increased anxiety in children. Recent guidelines suggest that clear liquids can safely be allowed closer to the time of surgery, and some enhanced recovery protocols even recommend giving carbohydrate-containing drinks before anesthesia.
This study will compare three different preoperative fasting approaches in children undergoing elective inguinoscrotal surgery: traditional fasting, preoperative carbohydrate drinks, and the "Sip-Til-Send" approach, which allows clear fluids until the child is called to the operating room.
The children's anxiety levels will be evaluated before surgery using a validated anxiety scale and assess stomach content and volume using gastric ultrasound. including gastric ultrasound findings (antral cross-sectional area, estimated gastric residual volume, and gastric fullness grade), gastric pH, blood glucose levels, and time to discharge readiness assessed using Ped-PADSS, will be evaluated. Additional clinical outcomes, including postoperative nausea, vomiting, pain, and delirium, time to first oral intake, and lengths of stay in the post-anesthesia care unit and hospital, will also be evaluated.
The results may help determine safer and more comfortable fasting strategies for children undergoing surgery.