Kartläggning av preoperativa fasterutiner på tre vårdavdelningar

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to investigate for how long patients fast before thoracic surgery, plastic surgery and ear, nose and throat surgery, at the University hospital of  Uppsala, and what knowledge patients have about fasting and how they get affected by it. 30 patients were interviewed, 10 patients at each ward, according to a questionnaire. Data processing was performed with SPSS. There was no difference in fasting time for solids between the wards but the mean fasting time was 14 hours. In the thoracic ward patients fasted from liquids considerably longer than in the other wards. The mean fasting time in the thoracic ward was 12 hours compared to six hours in the ear, nose and throat ward and five hours in the plastic surgery ward. Only 27 % (8/30) of the patients knew the reason for fasting before anesthesia. Patients experienced significantly more thirst, nausea and hunger after than before surgery but no difference was seen between men and women. Patients from the thoracic surgery ward experienced more nausea before surgery than the others. The conclusion is that the compliance to the recommendations for preoperative fasting is insufficient and doesn´t comply to the patients needs.