[A gastric proton pump inhibitor as preanesthetic medication]

Effect of omeprazole, a gastric proton pump inhibitor, on gastric secretion during anesthesia and surgery was evaluated in 39 elective surgical patients ranged in age from 18 to 69 years. These patients were divided into two groups according to their age either of 40 years and under or over. The patients of both groups underwent orthopedic, ophthalmic, ENT, plastic, oral or non-abdominal surgery under neuroleptanesthesia, enflurane anesthesia or total intravenous anesthesia with droperidol, fentanyl and ketamine. They all were administered omeprazole 20 mg orally at 21:00 the night before surgery and again at 7:00 on the morning of surgery. The volume and acidity of gastric juice were measured at anesthetic induction and emergence from anesthesia. The volume and pH of the gastric juice in patients of 40 years and under in age averaged to 9.8 +/- 3.2 (mean +/- SE) ml, 2.45 +/- 0.56 at the anesthetic induction and 9.3 +/- 4.1 ml, 4.66 +/- 0.60 at the emergence from anesthesia respectively. The mean volume and pH of the gastric juice in patients over 40 years of age were 5.0 +/- 1.7 ml, 4.68 +/- 0.56 at the anesthetic induction and 9.9 +/- 2.4 ml, 5.76 +/- 0.36 at the emergence from anesthesia respectively. Significant decrease in the volume and acidity of gastric juice was observed in the patients of both groups except that the average of intragastric pH of the patients under 40 years of age was below 2.50 at the induction of anesthesia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)