Pediatric surgery nurses' knowledge and practices regarding preoperative fasting

Abstract

Providing that pediatric patients fasting in the preoperative period according to current guidelines is among the primary responsibilities of surgical nurses. According to the literature, preoperative fasting periods for children are considerably longer than current recommendations. This descriptive study was conducted to determine the knowledge and practices of nurses working in pediatric surgery services regarding preoperative fasting.

The study was conducted in Public and Private hospitals in European side of Istanbul between January and August 2021, and the study sample consisted of 214 nurses working in pediatric surgery units. The sociodemographic information form prepared by the researchers and the nurses' knowledge and practice form regarding preoperative fasting were used for data collection. Frequency and percentage analyses were used to evaluate the data.

An estimated 27.6% of nurses reported that patients in their unit were fasting for more than 10 hours on average. Reasons for not sticking to the appropriate fasting period included inter-team disagreement, lack of in-service training, and educational level. 13.5% of the nurses answered all of the preoperative fasting times correctly by the guidelines. They stated that the purpose of preoperative fasting was to reduce the risk of aspiration, to ensure gastrointestinal tract cleansing, and to reduce gastric volume. 44.9% of the nurses reported continuing the traditional practice of restricting fasting patients from solid food after midnight.

The purpose of this study was to examine pediatric surgical nurses' knowledge and practices regarding preoperative fasting. Institutions should implement clear preoperative fasting protocols and conduct regular audits to promote adherence to evidence-based recommendations and enhance patient safety, and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among educators, administrators, and healthcare professionals to promote consistent implementation of practices.

Abbreviations: American Society of Anesthesiologists, (ASA); gastrointestinal, (GI); nil per os, (NPO: Latin for "nothing by mouth"); oral carbohydrate solutions, (OCS).