Fasting before surgery: safe or risky? new study checks blood volume
NCT ID NCT01258361
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study looked at whether not eating before surgery (preoperative fasting) causes low blood volume. Researchers used heart ultrasound to measure blood volume changes in 100 patients before and after fasting. The goal was to see if fasting increases the chance of low blood volume, which could affect surgery safety.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help refine preoperative fasting guidelines to reduce the risk of low blood volume during surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed observational study. Results may not apply to all patient groups or surgeries, and the measure of low blood volume is indirect.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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100 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Jan 2011
- Finished
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Apr 2011
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Patients recruited during anesthesia consultations carried out before programmed gynecological or visceral surgeries.
- Ages
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18 to 90 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * The patient must have given his/her informed and signed consent * The patient must be insured or beneficiary of a health insurance plan * The patient is ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) class I, II or III * The patient has not been fasting for more than 6 hours at the time of inclusion * The patient is schelduled for a gynecological or visceral surgery Exclusion Criteria: * The patient is participating in another study * The patient is in an exclusion period determined by a previous study * The patient is under judicial protection, under tutorship or curatorship * The patient refuses to sign the consent * It is impossible to correctly inform the patient * The patient is pregnant * The patient is breastfeeding * The patient is ASA class IV * The patient has insulin dependent diabetes * The patient has a cardiac or respiratory dysfunction * The patient has a heart rhythm disorder * The patient has renal insufficiency with dialysis * The patient is being treated with diuretics * The patient has had a bowel preparation * Emergency surgery * Outpatient surgery
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nîmes
Nîmes, Gard, 30029, France
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