Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Impact of preoperative fasting duration on perioperative complications in elective paediatric procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Pooled result · Gastric residual volumeResult — go to the resultSMD −0.05 95% CI −0.17 to 0.07Authors' conclusion
This systematic review and meta-analysis did not find an increased risk of pulmonary aspiration associated with preoperative clear fluid fasting of ≤1 h in children.
Study context
- Population
- Children undergoing elective procedures under GA
- Participants
- 1,234 children · 8 RCTs
- Comparison
- Shorter vs longer preoperative fasting times
- Outcome
- Gastric residual volume
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
SMD
−0.05
95% CI −0.17 to 0.07
Shorter fasting vs Longer fasting
SMD −0.05 (95% CI −0.17 to 0.07)
Further pooled results
| Outcome | SMD (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Gastric pH | −0.11 (−0.31 to 0.09) | |
| −0.4−0.200.2Difference (linear scale) |
Thirst and hunger
- Equivalent or reduced with shorter fasting
Safety
PONV
- Equivalent or reduced with shorter fasting
Original publication
Impact of preoperative fasting duration on perioperative complications in elective paediatric procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Anaesth. Published 27 November 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →