Diabetic Patients, Assessment of Preoperative Gastric Contents, and Potential Reduction of Risk of Pulmonary Aspiration

Editorial| April 2024 Diabetic Patients, Assessment of Preoperative Gastric Contents, and Potential Reduction of Risk of Pulmonary Aspiration This article has an Audio Podcast Mark A. Warner, M.D. Mark A. Warner, M.D. 1Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Author and Article Information Accepted for publication December 13, 2023. This editorial accompanies the article on p. 648. This article has a related Infographic on p. A16. Address correspondence to Dr. Warner: Anesthesiology April 2024, Vol. 140, 639–641. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000004878 Connected Content Article: Baseline Gastric Volume in Fasting Diabetic Patients Is Not Higher than That in Nondiabetic Patients: A Cross-sectional Noninferiority Study Infographic: NPO! Ready to Go?: Do Current Fasting Guidelines Ensure Empty Stomach in Diabetic Patients? Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Mark A. Warner; Diabetic Patients, Assessment of Preoperative Gastric Contents, and Potential Reduction of Risk of Pulmonary Aspiration. Anesthesiology 2024; 140:639–641 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000004878 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsAnesthesiology Search Advanced Search Topics: diabetes mellitus, gastric contents, preoperative care, pulmonary aspiration The use of gastric ultrasonography to assess stomach contents preoperatively and reduce the risk of perioperative pulmonary aspiration has been advocated for more than three decades,1 but initial reception into clinical practice was limited. That began to change in 2009 when a team led by Dr. Anahi Perlas at the University of Toronto began targeted studies to determine the efficacy and practicality of using ultrasound to identify patients who have liquid or solid stomach contents present immediately before their anesthetics.2 In this month's Anesthesiology, Perlas et al.3 have taken their studies a step further as they have attempted to answer a persistent question that confronts all anesthesia providers: "Do current preoperative fasting guidelines work for patients who have diabetes as well as they work for healthy patients?" The current preoperative fasting guidelines have proven to work well in reducing the fasting period from the traditional "... You do not currently have access to this content.