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Does Preoperative Oral Carbohydrate Reduce Hospital Stay? A Randomized Trial
Author(s) -
Webster Joan,
Osborne Sonya Ranee,
Gill Richard,
Chow Carina Faran Kalan,
Wallin Siobhan,
Jones Lee,
Tang Annie
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1016/j.aorn.2013.12.003
Subject(s) - medicine , regimen , randomized controlled trial , confidence interval , colorectal surgery , surgery , elective surgery , anesthesia , abdominal surgery
Oral carbohydrate‐rich fluids are used preoperatively to improve postoperative recovery, but their effectiveness for reducing length of hospital stay is uncertain. We assessed the effectiveness of preoperative loading with carbohydrates on the postoperative outcomes of 44 patients scheduled for elective colorectal surgery who were randomly allocated to a carbohydrate‐rich fluid group or a usual care group during their preadmission clinic visit. Our primary outcome was the time patients required to be ready for discharge. Patients in the control group spent an average of 4.3 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.2‐5.7) in the hospital and patients in the carbohydrate‐rich fluid group spent 4.1 days (95% CI, 3.2‐5.4) in the hospital until they met discharge criteria ( P = .824). We found that the safety of administering preoperative oral carbohydrate‐rich fluids is supported, but we were unable to confirm or refute the benefit of this treatment regimen for contributing to shorter hospital stays after elective colorectal surgery.