Nothing by Mouth at Midnight: Saving or Starving? A Literature Review

Survey of nil per os duration of patients admitted to the emergency department due to vomiting

During the acute phase of vomiting, even a small amount of water may not be tolerated by mouth. Early refeeding may cause re-vomiting in patients, whereas late refeeding may result in dehydration and hypoglycemia. Nil per os (NPO) may be generally recommended by primary physicians, but the appropriate NPO duration for these patients is still unclear.The study aimed to identify the ideal NPO duration for patients with acute vomiting.We prospectively recruited patients with vomiting who underwent NPO management and were administered antiemetic agents in the emergency department (ED) and the pediatric ED. The demographics, final diagnosis, clinical manifestations, medical management, NPO duration, and laboratory data were collected and analyzed to identify the ideal NPO durationA total of 304 patients with vomiting who were admitted in the ED were enrolled. The major diagnosis was acute gastroenteritis (AGE) (82.9%), followed by acute gastritis and colitis. Most patients were younger than 6 years (43.8%). Apart from abdominal pain and vomiting, nausea was the most common symptom (93.1%). NPO duration of 4 to 6 hours had the lowest rate of refeeding failure (3.7%) compared to the other NPO durations.For patients with acute vomiting who are admitted to the ED, NPO duration of 4 to 6 hours may be necessary and should be recommended by primary ED physicians.

The effect of multimedia-based nursing visit on preoperative anxiety and vital signs in patients undergoing lumbar disc herniation surgery: A randomised clinical trial

This study was a randomised clinical trial on 60 candidates undergoing lumbar disc herniation surgery. Anxiety rate and vital signs were measured before and after the intervention. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the preoperative anxiety, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate (P = 0.0001). Neurosurgery perioperative nurses can make use of multimedia in preoperative nursing visit based on the needs of patients.