Do Preoperative Carbohydrate Drinks Prevent Preoperative Catabolism in Mothers Undergoing Elective Caesarean Section? A Randomised Controlled Study

Overview

The primary aim of this randomised control trial is to assess the impact of pre-operative carbohydrate loading on the incidence of urinary ketone bodies when compared to standard care in elective caesarean section. Half of the participants will receive pre-operative carbohydrates and the other half will receive standard care.

Patients requiring general anaesthetic for surgical procedures are asked to stop eating and drinking for several hours before the procedure. This is due to concerns that such patients are at risk of lung damage caused by stomach contents entering their lungs while they are asleep (aspiration of gastric contents). However, fasting patients for long periods of time can lower their ability to heal well and slow their recovery from surgery. Fasting increases anxiety levels and leads to poor patient satisfaction with the care received. Recent studies have showed that allowing patients to drink clear, easily absorbed sugar rich liquids (carbohydrate drinks) until two hours prior to their anaesthetic does not expose them to extra risks while preventing the deleterious effects of starvation. Carbohydrate drinks with a few other measures aimed at facilitating early recovery after surgeries are collectively termed Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). The benefits and safety of enhanced recovery have been demonstrated in patients undergoing major bowel surgery and have been widely adopted. However, so far, no studies have been conducted to determine if these results apply to mothers undergoing planned caesarean sections. We hope to address this gap in the knowledge with our proposed study. All mothers undergoing a planned caesarean section in the Princess Royal Maternity (PRM) will be invited to participate. Mothers will be divided into two groups. One group will receive standard care and the other group will receive a carbohydrate drink in addition to standard care. Information collected from the groups will be compared to evaluate the expected benefits and risks. The study will continue until the target sample size of 100 mothers in each of the two study groups is reached.

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Central Contacts