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FastingNCT06067321

Gastric Residual Volumes in Infants Fed at 4 and 6 Hours Prior to General Anaesthesia

A study testing abdominal ultrasound, insertion of naso-gastric tube in people with Fasting and Anesthesia, run by King's College Hospital NHS Trust at 1 site in United Kingdom.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

The safety implications of prolonged fasting in young children prior to general anaesthesia are well described. Current UK guidance recommends a fasting time of 6 hours for formula milk prior to general anaesthesia. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages Up to 1 yearHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Fasting, Anesthesia, Pediatric ALL
What is being tested?
abdominal ultrasound, insertion of naso-gastric tube
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
70 participants
Where
1 siteUnited Kingdom
Study dates
1 May 2024to 1 Jul 2025
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Up to 1 year
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Term or term corrected (> 37 weeks) upto 12 months Formula fed ASA 1-3

Who cannot join

  • Significant reflux Co-administration of drugs known to impact gastric motility or PH of gastric contents Significant respiratory comorbidity including chronic lung disease on home oxygen Significant cardiac comorbidity

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United Kingdom1 site
  • Emily Saffer

    London, Greater London, SE5 9RS

Other trials in United Kingdom

About this study

Official title: Comparison of Gastric Residual Volumes in Infants Fed at 4 and 6 Hours Prior to General Anaesthesia: A Randomised Controlled Trial

The safety implications of prolonged fasting in young children prior to general anaesthesia are well described. Current UK guidance recommends a fasting time of 6 hours for formula milk prior to general anaesthesia. European guidance published in 2022 recommended a reduced fast of 4 hours for infants taking formula milk, albeit with a downgraded level 2B of evidence given the paucity of high quality research in this area. Although pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents under anaesthesia in children is a rare event, animal studies suggest that aspiration of particulate matter at volumes greater than 0.8 ml/kg gastric volume are associated with demonstrable lung injury and mortality. Although rate of gastric emptying of formula preparations has been extensively studied in neonatal intensive care settings for preterm babies using ultrasound, few studies have measured gastric volume directly in healthy term infants undergoing anaesthesia.

Read the detailed description

Traditional fasting guidelines of 6 hours for formula milk may be unnecessarily long. In practice, children also tend to be fasted for longer than the guidelines advise, as they may not always feed on cue, and delays in the hospital can occur on the day of surgery. Prolonged fasting in young children and infants is less well tolerated than in adults and can lead to hunger, dehydration and low blood sugar, as well as distress for the child and parents. We know from previous research in smaller babies that after a formula feed, the stomach empties by half in around 80 minutes, and empties completely by around 3 hours.

The investigators want to find out if young children and infants who are fed with formula milk 4 hours prior to an anaesthetic have similar levels of stomach contents at the time of their anaesthetic as those who are fed at 6 hours.

The investigators will carry out a clinical trial where children are randomised into 2 groups. Parents of children in Group 1 will be asked to offer a formula feed to their child 6 hours prior to the planned start time of their anaesthetic. Parents of children in Group 2 will be asked to offer a formula feed to their child 4 hours prior to the planned start time of their anaesthetic. Prior to having their anaesthetic a study team member will perform an abdominal ultrasound scan to check and record antral cross sectional area. Once asleep, gastric aspiration will be performed via naso-gastric tube. Volume, colour and pH of the fluid will be measure

The volume and acidity of any stomach contents will be compared between group 1 and group 2.

Being tested
abdominal ultrasound, insertion of naso-gastric tube
Keywords
gastric, volume
Medical subject headings
Fasting, Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • abdominal ultrasound, insertion of naso-gastric tubeOther

    measurement antral cross sectional area, volume and pH of residual stomach contents

Study groups in NCT06067321
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
4 hours formula feedActive comparatorParents asked to offer formula feed 4 hours prior to anticipated procedure start
Receives: Other: abdominal ultrasound, insertion of naso-gastric tube
6 hour formula feedActive comparatorParents asked to offer formula 6 hours prior to anticipated procedure start
Receives: Other: abdominal ultrasound, insertion of naso-gastric tube

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. gastric residual volume

    aspiration of gastric contents via naso-gastric tube

    Measured: following induction, pre surgery

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. antral cross sectional area

    ultrasound of abdomen

    Measured: pre induction

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted4 Oct 2023
  2. Study start1 May 2024 (estimated)
  3. Primary completion1 May 2025 (estimated)
  4. Study completion1 Jul 2025 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
70 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06067321
Sponsor's protocol ID
334555
Status last verified
Sep 2023
First submitted
14 Sep 2023
Last updated
4 Oct 2023
Results posted
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing abdominal ultrasound, insertion of naso-gastric tube in people with Fasting and Anesthesia, run by King's College Hospital NHS Trust at 1 site in United Kingdom.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Oct 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United Kingdom. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact emily saffer (07890549924, emily.saffer@nhs.net), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

gastric residual volume (time frame: following induction, pre surgery). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Oct 2023.

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