Preoperative starvation and blood glucose concentrations in children undergoing inpatient and outpatient anaesthesia.

Blood glucose concentrations were measured in 82 children undergoing inpatient anaesthesia and in 46 children undergoing anaesthesia as outpatients. The children were aged between 6 months and 9 yr. Outpatients were fasted from bedtime, while inpatients were randomly allocated to two groups. In group A the children were fasted from bedtime, whereas in group B the children were fed 6 h before anaesthesia. There was no difference in mean blood glucose concentration between the fasted inpatients and outpatients nor between children younger than, or older than, 4 years of age. A blood glucose concentration of less than 40 mg dl-1 was found in only one of the fasted children (1%). The mean blood glucose concentration was greater in group B than A, but only significantly so for children older than 4 yr. It is concluded that to minimize the risks of hypoglycaemia and inhalation of vomit on induction of anaesthesia children older than 6 months should be fasted overnight and operated on in the morning.