Early versus delayed postoperative oral hydration after general anesthesia: a prospective randomized trial

The purpose of our study was to determine the safety and tolerability of early oral hydration (EOH) compared with delayed oral hydration (DOH) after general anesthesia. One thousand anesthesiology (ASA) I to III adult patients undergoing non-gastrointestinal surgery with general anesthesia were randomized assigned into two groups: DOH (n=500, patients were given water 4 h after general anesthesia), EOH (n=500, patients were given 0.5 ml/kg water once recovered from general anesthesia.) in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Patients were evaluated for nausea, vomiting, drink desire, thirsty scale, oropharyngeal discomfort scale, and satisfaction scale. Statistical analysis was performed with Student's t and Chi-Square tests. Complete data were available for 983 patients (EOH=488, DOH=495). Twenty minutes after receiving water the incidence of vomiting in EOH group was very low. And there was no significant difference between the two groups at the same time point (p > 0.05). Compared with DOH group, after receiving water there was a significant decrease of patients' thirsty scales (p < 0.0001) and oropharyngeal discomfort scales (p < 0.0001) in EOH group. Significantly more patients' satisfaction were reported in EOH group (p < 0.001). No serious adverse effects were reported during the study period. For patients undergoing non-gastrointestinal surgery, early oral hydration after recovery from general anesthesia was safe, with lower thirsty scale and oropharyngeal discomfort scales, and higher satisfaction.