Preoperative fasting time in children undergoing elective surgical procedures

Abstract

Objective: to verify the preoperative fasting time in children undergoing elective surgical procedures. Methods: cross-sectional study, carried out with information obtained from 20 children’s medical records, submitted to descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results: the median fasting time was 8.03 hours. The shortest time recorded was 7 hours and 45 minutes and the longest 17 hours and 30 minutes. School children had the longest pre-anesthetic fasting time. In 16 cases, fasting after midnight was prescribed. There was no statistically significant difference between fasting time and the variables age groups and surgical specialties. No correlation was found between the child’s age and fasting time. Conclusion: the median fasting time was shorter than that found in other studies. The patients fasted for longer intervals than recommended. Fasting time was not related to age group, surgical specialty, and age of the child.