A Multicentre Preoperative Fasting Audit

The purpose of preoperative fasting is to achieve an empty stomach at the time of anaesthesia induction. Most current fasting guidelines all take into account the balance between the risk of pulmonary aspiration and the harmful effects of prolonged preoperative fasting. However, there is increased awareness among pediatric as well as general anaesthesiologists that many patients suffer from prolonged duration of fasting in spite of the reasonable nominal respective limits of 6-4-2 hours. Prolonged fasting may be harmful, especially in small children, but also in adults with a poor nutritional status. The new European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC, 2022) preoperative fasting guideline recommends a one-hour minimum fasting time for clear fluids. This represents a major change in the practice of paediatric anaesthesia. During the transition to shorter fasting times on a global scale, we need a large multicentre audit to monitor the incidence of pulmonary aspiration. The primary aim of the European Preoperative Fasting Audit (EUROFAST) is to determine the safety of reducing the required fasting time for clear fluids to at least one hour in children fasting before elective procedures requiring general anaesthesia (as recommended in the ESAIC guideline).