Perioperative medicine & outcomes
A randomized evaluation of early oral feeding after ambulatory non-gastrointestinal surgical patients under general anesthesia
Authors' conclusion
In patients undergoing ambulatory non-gastrointestinal procedures with comparable discharge criteria, the early feeding protocol produced clinically meaningful improvements in patient-centered outcomes: early postoperative comfort was significantly enhanced through substantial reductions in thirst and hunger VAS scores, while the odds of early PONV were reduced.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing day case non-gastrointestinal surgery under GA
- Participants
- 117 patients
- Comparison
- Early oral feeding protocol vs conventional 2-4-6 h fasting
- Interventionn = 62
- Controln = 55reference
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Nausea and vomiting · 2 h
Intervention
12.90% and 6.45%
Control
29.09% and 16.36%
P < 0.05
Further findings
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Time to first drink and first mealSignificantly earlier in the intervention group | P < 0.001 |
| Thirst, hunger, pain scores and postoperative infusion volumeAll significantly lower in the intervention group | all P < 0.001 |
| Time to first flatusMarkedly shortened in the intervention group | P < 0.001 |
Nausea and choking (multivariable logistic regression) · 2 h postoperatively
- Early feeding an independent protective factor: nausea, 63.9% reduction in odds (AOR)
- 0.361
- Early feeding an independent protective factor: choking, 79.7% reduction in odds (AOR)
- 0.203
Original publication
A randomized evaluation of early oral feeding after ambulatory non-gastrointestinal surgical patients under general anesthesia. Perioper Med (Lond). Published 5 March 2026. doi:10.
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