What is it about?

This study aimed to determine the effect of hard candies on gastric content volume and pH in patients undergoing elective esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy. Additionally, the study evaluated the difficulty of the procedure, complications, and satisfaction levels of the endoscopist and patient.

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Why is it important?

This study found that consuming hard candies did not affect the pH of gastric content and did not result in the accumulation of gastric content volume to the level of aspiration risk. Although not mentioned in the ASA guidelines for preoperative fasting, hard-candy consumption before elective EGD or other surgical procedures could be allowed. Scheduled operations should not be delayed or canceled if the patients have consumed hard candies during the nominal fasting period. Future directions would be to incorporate information regarding candy consumption into institutional and national guidelines for preoperative patient preparation.

Perspectives

There is no agreement between standard international guidelines about the time patients should refrain from consuming chewing gum or hard candies before procedures requiring anesthesia. Numerous studies have investigated the change in gastric content volume and acidity following chewing gum relative to the effects of standard fasting. However, the results of these investigations varied. Whereas some studies reported that gastric content volume increased due to chewing gum, other researchers disagreed, finding that the volume was similar to that of NPO patients. On the other hand, there is consensus among investigators regarding the acidity of gastric content. All studies agreed that gastric pH was not affected by chewing gum, with the pH after chewing being similar to that of NPO patients.

Professor Somchai Amornyotin
Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

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This page is a summary of: Hard-Candy Consumption Does Not Have an Effect on Volume and pH of Gastric Content in Patients Undergoing Elective Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedures: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management, November 2022, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.2147/tcrm.s377421.
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