Association of a Liberal Fasting Policy of Clear Fluids Before Surgery With Fasting Duration and Patient Well-being and Safety

Perioperative liberal drinking management promotes postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery after gynecological laparoscopic surgery: A randomized controlled trial

STUDY OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate the effect of perioperative liberal drinking management, including preoperative carbohydrate loading (PCL) given 2 h before surgery and early oral feeding (EOF) at 6 h postoperatively, in enhancing postoperative gastrointestinal function and improving outcomes in gynecologic patients. The hypotheses are that the perioperative liberal drinking management accelerates the recovery of gastrointestinal function, enhances dietary tolerance throughout hospitalization, and ultimately reduces the length of hospitalization.

DESIGN

A prospective randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Operating room and gynecological ward in Wuhan Union Hospital.

PATIENTS

We enrolled 210 patients undergoing elective gynecological laparoscopic surgery, and 157 patients were included in the final analysis.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients were randomly allocated in a 1:1:1 ratio into three groups, including the control, PCL, and PCL-EOF groups. The anesthetists and follow-up staff were blinded to group assignment.

MEASUREMENTS

The primary outcome was the postoperative Intake, Feeling nauseated, Emesis, Examination, and Duration of symptoms (I-FEED) score (range 0 to 14, higher scores worse). Secondary outcomes included the incidence of I-FEED scores >2, and other additional indicators to monitor postoperative gastrointestinal function, including time to first flatus, time to first defecation, time to feces Bristol grade 3-4, and time to tolerate diet. Additionally, we collected other ERAS recovery indicators, including the incidence of PONV, complications, postoperative pain score, satisfaction score, and the quality of postoperative functional recovery at discharge.

MAIN RESULTS

The PCL-EOF exhibited significantly enhanced gastrointestinal function recovery compared to control group and PCL group (p < 0.05), with the lower I-FEED score (PCL: 0[0,1] vs. PCL-EOF: 0[0,0] vs. control: 1[0,2]) and the reduced incidence of I-FEED >2 (PCL:8% vs. PCL-EOF: 2% vs. control:21%). Compared to the control, the intervention of PCL-EOF protected patients from the incidence of I-FEED score > 2 [HR:0.09, 95%CI (0.01-0.72), p = 0.023], and was beneficial in promoting the patient's postoperative first flatus [PCL-EOF: HR:3.33, 95%CI (2.14-5.19),p < 0.001], first defecation [PCL-EOF: HR:2.76, 95%CI (1.83-4.16), p < 0.001], Bristol feces grade 3-4 [PCL-EOF: HR:3.65, 95%CI (2.36-5.63), p < 0.001], first fluid diet[PCL-EOF: HR:2.76, 95%CI (1.83-4.16), p < 0.001], and first normal diet[PCL-EOF: HR:6.63, 95%CI (4.18-10.50), p < 0.001]. Also, the length of postoperative hospital stay (PCL-EOF: 5d vs. PCL: 6d and control: 6d, p < 0.001), the total cost (PCL-EOF: 25052 ± 3650y vs. PCL: 27914 ± 4684y and control: 26799 ± 4775y, p = 0.005), and postoperative VAS pain score values [POD0 (PCL-EOF: 2 vs. control: 4 vs. PCL: 4, p < 0.001), POD1 (PCL-EOF: 1 vs. control: 3 vs. PCL: 2, p < 0.001), POD2 (PCL-EOF: 1 vs. control:2 vs. PCL: 1, p < 0.001), POD3 (PCL-EOF: 0 vs. control: 1 vs. PCL: 1, p < 0.001)] were significantly reduced in PCL-EOF group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our primary endpoint, I-FEED score demonstrated significant reduction with perioperative liberal drinking, serving as a protective intervention against I-FEED>2. Gastrointestinal recovery metrics, such as time to first flatus and defecation, also showed substantial improvements. Furthermore, the intervention enhanced postoperative dietary tolerance and expedited early recovery.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR2300071047(https://www.chictr.org.cn/).

Comparison of anaesthesia strategies on postoperative nausea and vomiting in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Intra-operative anaesthesia management should be optimised to reduce the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting in high-risk patients; however, a single intervention may not effectively reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting in such patients. This study assessed the effect of an optimised anaesthetic protocol versus a conventional one on postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

METHODS

A single-centre randomised trial was conducted at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital from June 2021 to December 2022. Among 168 patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, 116 qualified, and 103 completed the study with available data. Patients were categorized into the conventional group (received sevoflurane and standard fluids) and the optimised group (underwent propofol-based anaesthesia and was administered goal-directed fluids). The primary endpoints were postoperative nausea and vomiting incidence and severity within 24 h.

RESULTS

Postoperative nausea and vomiting assessment at 0-3 h post-surgery revealed no significant differences between groups. However, at 3-24 h, the optimised anaesthetic protocol group showed lower postoperative nausea and vomiting incidence and severity than those of the conventional group (P = 0.005). In the conventional group, 20 (37.04%) patients experienced moderate-to-severe postoperative nausea and vomiting, compared to six (12.25%) patients in the optimised group (odds ratio = 0.237; 95% CI = 0.086, 0.656; P = 0.006). No significant differences were noted in antiemetic treatment, moderate-to-severe pain incidence, anaesthesia recovery, post-anaesthetic care unit stay, or postoperative duration between the groups. While the total intra-operative infusion volumes were comparable, the optimised group had a significantly higher colloidal infusion volume (500 mL vs. 0 mL, P = 0.014) than that of the conventional group.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence and severity of postoperative nausea and vomiting 3-24 h postoperatively in patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy were significantly lower with propofol-based total intravenous anaesthesia and goal-directed fluid therapy than with sevoflurane anaesthesia and traditional fluid management. Total intravenous anaesthesia is an effective multimodal antiemetic strategy for bariatric surgery.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-TRC- 2,100,046,534, registration date: 21 May 2021).

Preoperative fasting and the risk of pulmonary aspiration-a narrative review of historical concepts, physiological effects, and new perspectives

In the early days of anaesthesia, the fasting period for liquids was kept short. By the mid-20th century 'nil by mouth after midnight' had become routine as the principles of the management of 'full stomach' emergencies were extended to include elective healthy patients. Back then, no distinction was made between the withholding of liquids and solids. Towards the end of the last century, recommendations of professional anaesthesiology bodies began to reduce the fasting time of clear liquids to 2 h. This reduction in fasting time was based on the understanding that gastric emptying of clear liquids is rapid, exponential, and proportional to the current filling state of the stomach. Furthermore, there was no evidence of a link between drinking clear liquids and the risk of aspiration. Indeed, most instances of aspiration are caused by failure to identify aspiration risk factors and adjust the anaesthetic technique accordingly. In contrast, long periods of liquid withdrawal cause discomfort and may also lead to serious postoperative complications. Despite this, more than two decades after the introduction of the 2 h limit, patients still fast for a median of up to 12 h before anaesthesia, mainly because of organisational issues. Therefore, some hospitals have decided to allow patients to drink clear liquids within 2 h of induction of anaesthesia. Well-designed clinical trials should investigate whether these concepts are safe in patients scheduled for anaesthesia or procedural sedation, focusing on both aspiration risk and complications of prolonged fasting.

Liberal Preoperative Fasting in Adults Undergoing Elective Surgery: A Scoping Review Protocol

Background

Prolonged fasting before surgery has negative effects on the physiology and psychology of patients. Preoperative liberal fasting proposes that patients can drink clear liquids before entering the operating theater, challenging the guideline strategy of a two-hour preoperative liquid fast for adults. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of studies on liberal preoperative fasting in adults. However, currently there is no consensus on the safe amount of fluid consumed, adverse effects, or benefits of this new policy.

Objective

This scoping review protocol will map the existing evidence of liberal preoperative fasting in adults undergoing elective surgery for clinical practice, to summarize more scientific evidence to healthcare professionals when providing perioperative care. Methods and Analysis. The methodology will follow the six steps of the Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework and be guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Review. A comprehensive search of six databases will be performed from their inception to 31 May 2023 to identify suitable English studies. Two trained investigators will independently screen and extract the data, and any disagreements will be judged by a third investigator. The results of the study will be presented as graphs or tables. Ethics and Dissemination. This scoping review only examines literature in the database, without reference to human or animal studies, and therefore does not require ethical approval. The findings of this scoping review will be published in peer-reviewed journals or presented at conferences. The Registration Number. This scoping review has been registered in the Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/PMW7C).

Comment on Matsumoto et al. Remimazolam's Effects on Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Are Similar to Those of Propofol after Laparoscopic Gynecological Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J. Clin. Med., 12, 5402

The recent article published in this journal by Matsumoto et al. [...].

Initial experience with the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols in gynecologic surgery at an urban academic tertiary medical center

Background

The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been consistently associated with improved patient experience and surgical outcomes. Despite the release of ERAS Society guidelines specific to gynecologic oncology, the adoption of ERAS in gynecology on global level has been disappointingly low and some centers have shown minimal improvement in clinical outcomes after adopting ERAS. The aim of this study is to describe the development and early experience of ERAS protocols in gynecologic surgery at an urban academic tertiary medical center.

Methods

This was an observational prospective cohort study. The target patient population included those with low comorbidities who were scheduled to undergo various types of gynecologic surgeries for both benign and malignant diseases between October 2020 and February 2021. Two attending surgeons implemented the protocols for their patients (ERAS cohort) while three attending surgeons maintained the conventional perioperative care for their patients (non-ERAS cohort). Baseline characteristics, surgical outcomes and patients' answers to a 12-question survey were compared. A case-matched comparative analysis was also performed between the ERAS cohort and the historical non-ERAS cohort (those who received the same types of surgical procedures from the two ERAS attending surgeons prior to the implementation of the protocols).

Results

A total of 244 patients were evaluated (122 in the ERAS cohort vs. 122 in the non-ERAS cohort). The number of vials of opioid analgesia used during the first two postoperative days was significantly lower whereas the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen was more frequent in the ERAS cohort group. The patients in the ERAS group reported less postoperative pain, feelings of hunger and thirst, and greater amount of exercise postoperatively. These benefits of the ERAS cohort were more pronounced in the patients who underwent laparotomic surgeries than those who underwent laparoscopic surgeries. The case-matched comparative analysis also showed similar results. The length of hospital stay did not differ between those who underwent the ERAS protocols and those who did not.

Conclusions

The results of the study demonstrated the safety, clinical feasibility and benefits of the ERAS protocols for patients undergoing gynecologic surgeries for both benign and malignant indications.

The effect of a 'Sip til Send' policy on patient satisfaction: a quality improvement project

Patients often are nil by mouth for prolonged periods pre-operatively, which is associated with adverse effects including discomfort, anxiety, thirst and nausea. As a result, several hospitals have introduced a more liberal regimen of pre-operative drinking, with patients encouraged to sip small volumes of water until transfer to the operating theatre ('Sip til Send'). The impact of 'Sip til Send' on patient satisfaction is still to be determined. We hypothesised that the introduction of a 'Sip til Send' policy would increase patient's satisfaction with their pre-operative fluid management regimen. We conducted a staged implementation of a 'Sip til Send' quality improvement initiative in two campuses of a large tertiary teaching hospital. This involved a targeted education and implementation programme that was refined and delivered through 'plan, do, study and act' cycles. Patient satisfaction with their pre-operative fluid management was measured by rating the statement "I am happy with the management of pre-operative drinking", against a five-point Likert scale (0, strongly disagree; 1, disagree; 2, neutral; 3, agree; and 4, strongly agree). Patient satisfaction with pre-operative fluid management was high at baseline, with pooled data for both campuses showing a median (IQR [range]) satisfaction score of 4 (3-4 [1-4]). After the implementation of 'Sip til Send', this improved to a median (IQR [range]) satisfaction score of 4 (4-4 [2-4]) (p < 0.001). The introduction of a 'Sip til Send' policy resulted in an increase in patient satisfaction. Key factors in successful implementation included the provision of a clear explanation of the underlying rationale to patients, nursing and anaesthetic staff, and establishing the policy as the default position for all elective patients.

Clinical validation of the nursing diagnostic proposition perioperative thirst

OBJECTIVE

to verify the clinical validity of the proposition of a new nursing diagnosis called perioperative thirst, based on the diagnostic accuracy of its clinical indicators, including the magnitude of effect of its etiological factors.

METHOD

clinical diagnostic validation study with a total of 150 surgical patients at a university hospital. Sociodemographic variables and clinical indicators related to thirst were collected. The latent class analysis technique was used.

RESULTS

two models of latent classes were proposed for the defining characteristics. The model adjusted preoperatively included: dry lips, thick saliva, thick tongue, desire to drink water, caregiver report, dry throat and constant swallowing of saliva. In the postoperative period: dry throat, thick saliva, thick tongue, constant swallowing of saliva, desire to drink water, bad taste in the mouth. The factors related to "high ambient temperature" and "dry mouth" are associated with the presence of thirst, as well as the associated conditions "use of anticholinergics" and "intubation". The prevalence of thirst was 62.6% in the pre and 50.2% in the immediate postoperative period.

CONCLUSION

the diagnostic proposition of perioperative thirst showed good accuracy parameters for its clinical indicators and etiological effects. This proposition in a nursing taxonomy will allow greater visibility, appreciation and treatment of this symptom.(1) Evaluates the accuracy of the proposition of the nursing diagnosis perioperative thirst; (2) Allows refined diagnosis for use in clinical practice, teaching and research; (3) Strengthens the systematization of perioperative nursing care; (4) Highlights thirst management as part of care, considering its high prevalence and discomfort; (5) Presents a structure with good accuracy parameters which are representative of thirst.