Ultrasound for Prediction of Empty Stomach in Infants

Background and Aim: Pulmonary aspiration of gastric content is a serious perioperative complication. What is known about the pediatric patient's fasting time is usually based on parental history alone, but in some situation there may be doubts about an empty stomach in young children. Ultrasound examination of the gastric antrum is increasingly used and is emerging as a valuable perioperative noninvasive tool for the indirect assessment of gastric volumes in children. The objective of this prospective study was to assess the relationship between the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the antrum measured by gastric ultrasound and gastric volumes suctioned endoscopically, also to determine the best cut-off value of CSA for empty antrum in the pediatric population less than 24 months of age.

Inclusion Criteria:All infants (< 24 months age) undergoing elective upper GI endoscopy under general anesthesia and American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) physical status I -II, were included in this studyExclusion Criteria:Parental refusalPrevious lower esophageal or gastric surgeryNon-adherence with the fasting regimenMore than 5 minutes between gastric sonography and endoscopy