Objective: To generate evidence of feasibility to allow clear liquid 2 hours before elective surgery.
Study design: Cross-sectional observational study.
Place and duration of study: The Department of Surgery, Patan Hospital, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Nepal, from October to December 2016.
Methodology: One hundred consecutive adult elective major surgery patients of American Society of Anesthesiologist criteria 1 or 2 were enrolled. The protocol was discussed with patients, nurses, anesthetists and surgeons to allow 500 ml clear liquid (ORS) up to 0600 hours on the day of surgery to maintain minimum of 2 hours (h) nil per os (NPO) before surgery. Compliance, discomfort, nausea and vomiting were observed. Institutional review committee approved the study. Microsoft excel was used for descriptive analysis.
Results: All 100 patients completed the protocol of shortened fasting time. Two patients had incomplete records and were excluded from analysis. Among the 98 patients analysed, age was 48 ±12.38 years with 74 females (75.51% of 98). There were 68 gastrointestinal, 20 urosurgery and 10 others surgeries. There was no discomfort, nausea or vomiting reported due to ORS 2-h before elective surgery.
Conclusion: Preoperative clear liquid up to 2-h before elective surgery in adults is feasible and safe in our set-up to shorten the fasting time.