The Effect of Preoperative Oral Carbohydrate on the Incidence of Complications in PACU After General Anesthesia: A Prospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the effect of preoperative oral carbohydrate (POC) loading on the occurrence of complications in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) after general anesthesia.

DESIGN

Prospective observational cohort study

METHODS

Patients who were scheduled for abdominal surgery under general anesthesia at our institution were divided into the POC group and control group based on whether they drank carbohydrate solution 2 hours before surgery. POC loading of the patients was decided by the responsible surgeon. In PACU, the occurrence of postoperative complications including delayed emergence, emergence agitation, hypoxemia, hypertension, hypotension, moderate to severe postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting, hypothermia, shivering, and time to awakening, time to extubation, length of PACU stay were recorded.

FINDINGS: Data from 307 patients (n = 154 in POC group and n = 153 in control group) were included in the final analysis. Compared to the control group, POC led to a near-significant reduction in the overall incidence of complications in PACU after surgery (37.0% vs 47.7%, P = .058). The POC group had a lower incidence of hypothermia and shorter mean time to awakening when compared to control group (6.5% vs 16.3%, P = .007 and 19 min vs 21 min, P = .007, respectively). No statistical differences were detected in other outcome measurements between the POC group and the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

POC is associated with a trend to decrease the overall incidence of complications during recovery period after general anesthesia in patients who underwent abdominal surgery. Moreover, POC could reduce the risk of hypothermia in PACU and shorten the time to awakening.