Minimum Fasting Times
The minimum fasting times prior to surgery have long been debated. The first proposition came from British anesthetists stating that patients should be nil by mouth from midnight. However, since then, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), followed by the Association of Anaesthestists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI), recommended new fasting guidelines for the minimum fast prior to surgery. This was based upon evidence by Canadian anesthesiologists who found that drinking clear fluids two hours prior to surgery decreased pulmonary aspiration compared to those nil by mouth since midnight. The following are the recommended guidelines for nil by mouth prior to surgery:
| Age | Solids | Clear liquids |
|---|---|---|
| <6 months | 4 hours | 2 hours |
| 6-36 months | 6 hours | 3 hours |
| >36 months (including adults) | 6 hours | 2 hours |
When anaesthesia is required in an emergency situation, nasogastric aspiration is usually performed to reduce gastric contents and the risk of its pulmonary aspiration.
Read more about this topic: Preoperative Fasting
Famous quotes containing the words minimum, fasting and/or times:
“There are ... two minimum conditions necessary and sufficient for the existence of a legal system. On the one hand those rules of behavior which are valid according to the system’s ultimate criteria of validity must be generally obeyed, and on the other hand, its rules of recognition specifying the criteria of legal validity and its rules of change and adjudication must be effectively accepted as common public standards of official behavior by its officials.”
—H.L.A. (Herbert Lionel Adolphus)
“The philosopher is like a man fasting in the midst of universal intoxication. He alone perceives the illusion of which all creatures are the willing playthings; he is less duped than his neighbor by his own nature. He judges more sanely, he sees things as they are. It is in this that his liberty consists—in the ability to see clearly and soberly, in the power of mental record.”
—Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)