Paediatric anaesthesia & critical care
Liberal vs. conventional pre‐operative clear fluid fasting policies in children: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomised and non‐randomised studies
Authors' conclusion
Pulmonary aspiration is rare in children, and similar incidences of aspiration and vomiting were observed under liberal and conventional clear fluid fasting policies. The results should be interpreted cautiously due to the very low certainty of evidence.
Study context
- Population
- Patients aged < 18 y who underwent general anaesthesia or sedation for surgery or procedures
- Participants
- 580,197 patients · 33 studies
- Comparison
- Liberal vs conventional clear fluid fasting policies
- Outcome
- Pulmonary aspiration
Methodological detailsrandomised and non-randomised studies, comprehensive searches across five databases
- Randomised and non-randomised studies
- Comprehensive searches across five databases
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
14 studies (475,399 patients); no difference between policies
Further pooled results
Pooled incidence
| Outcome | Liberal | Conventional |
|---|---|---|
| Vomiting without pulmonary aspiration (secondary outcome)Certainty of evidence very low | 0.76% (95% CI 0.18–3.14%) | 0.99% (95% CI 0.27–3.51%) |
- Vomiting without pulmonary aspiration (secondary outcome): Seventeen studies (344,653 patients) reported vomiting
Original publication
Liberal vs. conventional pre‐operative clear fluid fasting policies in children: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomised and non‐randomised studies. Anaesthesia. Published 23 October 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →