[Reappraisal of current practice of preoperative fasting in Japan]

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) published a clinical practice guideline of preoperative fasting in 1999. A nationwide survey conducted in Japan in 2003 reveals that many hospitals have a much longer fasting period. We conducted a similar survey in three limited areas in Japan to assess the changes in fasting practice.

A written questionnaire for preoperative fasting was sent to 50 hospital in 3 prefectures.

The duration of fasting for liquids tends to be shorter than those in the 2003 survey. The rates of application of the ASA guideline, however, are still low specifically in adults (4.2%), which is significantly lower than those in children (17.7%), or in infants (39.0%). The reasons for noncompliance are mainly due to organizational problems associated with scheduling of operation. Most hospitals aspire to have Japanese guideline about preoperative fasting periods.

Longer preoperative fasting periods are still common practice in Japanese hospitals.