Abstract.

  Background. This review aims to discuss the definition of preoperative fasting in terms of gastric emptyingin children prepared for surgery, to discuss the conflict between preoperative fasting duration and volume, and to explainthe benefits and hazards associated with fasting which may contribute to physical distress or well-being. Materials andmethods. A search in CINAHL, EBSCO, Science Direct, Google Scholar, PubMed, and the MЕDLINE database wasconducted. The search generated 150 articles, 17 articles were included in this review. Results. The review revealedthat preoperative fasting is one of the safe measures that should be concerned by all health care providers, at the sametime focusing on the comprehensive assessment before surgery which helps in the prediction of hazards that may exposechildren to dangers. Conclusions. A major conflict is to have a policy for preoperative fasting, so new guidelines forchildren who undergo surgery should be applied and implemented