Gastric Emptying Times of Normal and Obese Children After Preoperative Clear Fluid Drinking: An Ultrasound Study

In the recent literature, pre-operative fasting times for pediatric patients are limited to one hour for clear fluids. Studies related to gastric emptying times mostly searched for normal-weight children. These studies have claimed that 3 mL/kg clear fluid can be allowed up to 1 hour before surgery. There is a lack of interest in the gastric emptying time of obese pediatric patients during the preoperative period. In addition, there is controversy about gastric emptying times of obese healthy children. Some research committed the decrease of gastric emptying because of a high level of sensitivity to cholecystokinin, while others postulated that no change in gastric emptying time of obese children compared to normal weight. The aim of this trial is to compare the gastric volume and gastric emptying time after ingestion of 3 mL/kg clear fluid in obese and non-obese pediatric patients in the pre-operative period.