Background A preliminary national audit of real fasting times including 3324 children showed that the fasting times for clear fluids and light meals were frequently shorter than recommended in current guidelines, but the sample size was too small for subgroup analyses. Aims Therefore, the primary aim of this extended study with more participating centers and a larger sample size was to determine whether shortened fasting times for clear fluids or light meals have an impact on the incidence of regurgitation or pulmonary aspiration during general anesthesia in children. The secondary aim was to evaluate the impact of age, emergent status, ASA classification, induction method, airway management or surgical procedure. Methods After the Ethics Committee's approval, at least more than 10 000 children in total were planned to be enrolled for this analysis. Patient demographics, real fasting times, anesthetic and surgical procedures, and occurrence of target adverse events defined as regurgitation or pulmonary aspiration were documented using a standardized case report form. Results At fifteen pediatric centers, 12 093 children scheduled for surgery or interventional procedures were included between October 2018 and December 2019. Fasting times were shorter than recommended in current guidelines for large meals in 2.5%, for light meals in 22.4%, for formula milk in 5.3%, for breastmilk in 10.9%, and for clear fluids in 39.2%. Thirty‐one cases (0.26%) of regurgitation, ten cases (0.08%) of suspected pulmonary aspiration, and four cases (0.03%) of confirmed pulmonary aspiration were reported, and all of them recovered quickly without any consequences. Fasting times for clear fluids shortened from 2 hours to 1 hour did not affect the incidence of adverse events (upper limit 95% CI 0.08%). The sample size of the cohort with fasting times for light meals shorter than 6 hours was too small for a subgroup analysis. An age between one and 3 years (odds ratio 2.7,95% CI 1.3 to 5.8%; P < .01) and emergent procedures (odds ratio 2.8,95% CI 1.4 to 5.7;P < .01) increased the incidence of adverse events, whereas ASA classification, induction method, or surgical procedure had no influence. The clear fluid fasting times were shortest under 6/4/0 as compared to 6/4/1 and 6/4/2 fasting regimens, all with an incidence of 0.3% for adverse events. Conclusion This study shows that a clear fluid fasting time shortened from 2 hours to 1 hour does not affect the incidence of regurgitation or pulmonary aspiration, that an age between one and 3 years and emergent status increase the incidence of regurgitation or pulmonary aspiration, and that pulmonary aspiration followed by postoperative respiratory distress is rare and usually shows a quick recovery.

Background Prolonged fasting before anesthesia is still common in children. Shortened fasting times may improve the metabolic and hemodynamic condition during induction of anesthesia and the perioperative experience for parents and children and simplify perioperative management. As a consequence, some centers in Germany have reduced fasting requirements, but the national guidelines are still unchanged. Aims This prospective multicenter observational study was initiated by the Scientific Working Group for Pediatric Anesthesia of the German Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine to evaluate real fasting times and the incidence of pulmonary aspiration before a possible revision of national fasting guidelines. Methods After the Ethics Committee's approval, at least 3000 children were planned to be enrolled for this analysis. Patient demographics, real fasting times, anesthetic and surgical procedures and occurrence of regurgitation or pulmonary aspiration were documented using a standardized case report form. Results were presented as median [interquartile range] (range) or incidence (percentage). Results At ten pediatric centers, 3324 children were included between October 2018 and May 2019. The real fasting times for large meals were 14 [12.2‐15.6] (0.5‐24) hours, for light meals 9 [5.6‐13.3] (0.25‐28.3) hours, for formula milk 5.8 [4.5‐7.4] (0.9‐24) hours, for breast milk 4.8 [4.2‐6.3] (1.3‐25.3) hours and for clear fluids 2.7 [1.5‐6] (0.03‐22.8) hours. Prolonged fasting (deviation from guideline >2 hours) was reported for large meals in 88.3%, for light meals in 54.7%, for formula milk in 44.4%, for breast milk in 25.8% and for clear fluids in 34.2%. Eleven cases (0.33%) of regurgitation, four cases (0.12%) of suspected pulmonary aspiration and two cases (0.06%) of confirmed pulmonary aspiration were reported; all of them could be extubated after the end of the procedure and recovered without any incidents. Conclusion This study shows that prolonged fasting is still common in pediatric anesthesia in Germany that pulmonary aspiration with postoperative respiratory distress is rare and that improvements to current local fasting regimens and national fasting guidelines are urgently needed.

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Background: Anhepatic animal models are suitable for simulating acute liver failure. Hepatectomy in pigs includes en bloc resection of the vena cava, and therefore, a temporary extracorporeal bypass and total clamping of the inferior vena cava are needed. These steps cause severe depression of circulation with impaired survival. Methods: Previous to en bloc hepatectomy including retrohepatic vena cava in 20 female pigs, a Y-shaped bypass was implanted starting with end-to-side anastomosis between the vena cava and the portal vein, followed by anastomosis to the intrathoracic vena cava. Results: Blood flow was constant during and after hepatectomy because vessels were only partially clamped. No venous stasis of intestinal organs was observed. Hemodynamic parameters like heart rate, mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure, pulse oximetry and intracranial pressure remained extremely stabile during and after hepatectomy. Postoperative survival time was 100% after 12 h. Maximum survival time was 84.9 h and mean survival time 51.2 ± 18.7 h. All animals died from multiple organ failure. Intracranial pressure remained stable during the surgical procedure and rose continuously until death. The autopsy showed massive brain edema. Conclusions: This new surgical technique is safe and easy to perform and permits total hepatectomy with minimal blood loss under stable circulation without requiring an extracorporeal bypass.

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