Clinical Research Directory

Does Pre-operative Gastric Ultrasound Influence Anaesthetic Decision-Making in Chronic Pain Patients? A Prospective Observational Cohort.

Gastric POCUS has been validated and shown to be an accurate diagnostic tool in both healthy individuals and medically complex patient populations. Regional anaesthesiologists and pain management physicians frequently provide sedation or anaesthetic care for medically complex patients who fall outside the limited applicability of existing fasting guidelines, including patients with chronic pain, poor acute-on-chronic pain control, and those receiving acute or chronic opioid therapy. These patients are at risk of delayed gastric emptying and may therefore benefit from additional pre-procedural assessment using gastric ultrasound prior to elective interventions