Prevalence of risk stomach in laboring women allowed to unrestrictive oral intake: a comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background Although restricting food intake during labor is recommended by guidelines, intrapartum starvation has not been popular in some regions. We conducted this comparative cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of risk stomach in non-fasted laboring women compared with fasted non-laboring women using gastric ultrasound. Methods Ultrasound examination of the antrum was performed in 50 term fasted non-laboring women before elective cesarean delivery and 50 laboring women allowed to eat and drink during active labor. Examinations consisted of the qualitative (antral grades, 0–3) and quantitative evaluation (antral cross-sectional area and calculated gastric volume) in the supine and right lateral decubitus (RLD) position. A risk stomach was defined as an antral grade ≥ 2 or grade 1 with gastric volume ≥ 1.5 ml· kg− 1. Results No non-laboring women had grade ≥ 2, while 34 (68%) laboring women had grade ≥ 2. Nine (18%) non-laboring and 40 (80%) laboring women presented risk stomach (P < 0.001) (risk ratio: 4.4, 95% CI 2.4–8.2). Compared with non-laboring women, laboring women had larger antral area at “empty” stomach (grade 0) (437 mm2 vs.350 mm2 in supine, 571 mm2 vs.480 mm2 in RLD, P < 0.05) and cut-off values of antral area to discriminate a risk stomach (510 mm2 vs. 453 mm2 in supine, 670 mm2 vs. 605 mm2 in RLD). Conclusions This study confirms a higher prevalence of risk stomach presents in laboring women under a liberal eating policy, gastric ultrasound is therefore useful for this risk population if general anesthesia is required unexpectedly.

Keywords

• Gastric ultrasound
• Gastric volume
• Labor, obstetric
• Obstetric anesthesia
• Pulmonary aspiration