Journal of Clinical Anesthesia and Research
- ISSN: 2577-3003
Somita Christopher, Syed Abdullah and TVS Gopal
Introduction: Aspiration of gastric contents during the perioperative period is a grave complication with significant morbidity and mortality. Patients with Diabetes Mellitus have a higher incidence of autonomic dysfunction causing gastropathy. Currently, there is no consensus on what constitutes an adequate fasting interval in diabetic patients. Ultrasound is widely available and has been proven to be a reliable, bedside assessment tool for real-time evaluation of gastric contents.
Material and Methods: This prospective and comparative study was conducted over a period of one year. 100 patients scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia were allocated to Group D (diabetic) and Group C (Non-diabetic) based on their diabetic status. Preoperative ultrasonography was done to assess the gastric volume and content of diabetic patients in comparison with non-diabetic patients.
Results: There was no difference as far as the demographic data is concerned between the two groups. The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the stomach in the supine position was 2 ± 0.42cm in group D and 1.36 ± 0.4 cm in group C which was statistically significant ( p =0.001). The mean CSA in the lateral position was 2.2cm in Group C and 3.9 cm in Group D which was also statistically significant.
Conclusion: Our study suggests that diabetic patients have significant qualitative and quantitative changes in the stomach content and volume compared to non-diabetic patients. Therefore, doing a gastric ultrasound assessment preoperatively helps in assessing and preventing the pulmonary aspiration of gastric content and its complications, which are rare but life-threatening