Letting patients drink clear fluids until called to the operating room to shorten pre-surgery fasting
Quality Improvement Project to Reduce Preoperative Fasting Times Before Elective Procedures
This project will try letting elective procedure patients drink clear liquids until they're called to the operating room to see if fasting times, comfort, and perioperative outcomes improve.
Quick facts
| Study type | Observational |
|---|---|
| Enrollment | 1000 (estimated) |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | University of Giessen Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Giessen) |
| Trial ID | NCT07488468 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
This single-center quality improvement initiative uses a Plan-Do-Study-Act framework to implement a local standard operating procedure allowing clear liquids until patients are called to the operating room. The team will train anesthesiology staff, provide patient fasting instruction cards, and roll out supporting materials such as posters and short screencasts. Fasting durations and selected perioperative outcomes (e.g., fluid intake, postoperative nausea and vomiting, pulmonary complications, and delirium) will be recorded before and after implementation. Data will be analyzed to guide iterative adjustments to the local protocol.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Patients scheduled for elective surgery or interventions requiring anesthesiology care (general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, sedation, or anesthesiology standby) at the site are the intended participants, excluding those already sedated or mechanically ventilated.
Not a fit: Patients who are already sedated, intubated, or mechanically ventilated, those undergoing emergency procedures, or patients with specific medical orders to remain NPO are unlikely to benefit from this initiative.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients may have shorter preoperative fasting with less dehydration and nausea, improved comfort, and potentially fewer postoperative complications such as delirium or pulmonary issues.
How similar studies have performed: International guidelines support a 2-hour clear-liquid fast and prior single-center quality-improvement programs have successfully shortened fasting times and improved patient comfort, so this approach builds on existing practice-change evidence.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * All patients elective surgery or intervention requiring with anesthesiology care general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, sedation, or anesthesiology stand-by Exclusion Criteria: * Already sedated, intubated, and mechanically ventilated patients
Where this trial is running
Giessen
- Justus Liebig University Giessen, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg — Giessen, Germany (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Marit Habicher, Dr.
- Email: Marit.Habicher@chiru.med.uni-giessen.de
- Phone: +4964198544401
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.