Safety of 250ml Preoperative Carbohydrate Drink in Gastric Cancer Patients

In clinic, administration of oral carbohydrate 2-3 hours before surgery has been widely applied in elective colorectal surgery. However, no direct evidence has been showed that whether it is safe to do so in gastric cancer patients who are fit for elective radical gastric resection.

This study aims to discuss the impact and safety of oral administration of 5% glucose solution 250ml 2-3 hours before elective gastric cancer surgery. It is an equivalence study, which refers to a single-center, prospective, single blind, and randomized controlled study design. Eighty-eight patients with gastric adenocarcinoma are going to be enrolled in the study, who will be allocated into control or treatment group. Patients in control group follow the traditional routine of 6-8 hours preoperative fasting, while those in the treatment group will orally intake 250ml 5% glucose solution 2-3 hours before surgery. The primary end-point is the preoperative gastric residual volume. The secondary end-points include preoperative PH of gastric fluid, assessment of perioperative psychosomatic conditions, rate of perioperative complications, level of insulin sensitivity, recovery of bowel function, and the length of hospital stay, etc.

Inclusion criteria

• Age between 18 and 80 years
• Histologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma
• Tumor of cT2-4aN0-2 in preoperative gastroscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, and/or abdominal computed tomography
• Fit for elective radical resection
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1
• American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) status I to III
• Body mass index (BMI) of 17.5-27.5 kg/m2 .Patient agreed to participate this trial through informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Symptoms of pyloric obstruction
• Impaired bowel function, using drugs disturbing gastric secretion and gastric emptying
• History of gastric resection
• History of gastric cancer treatment
• History of major abdominal operation, or diffuse peritonitis
• Diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, or with abnormality in other endocrine hormones
• Potential difficult airway as evaluated by anesthesiologist
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding were excluded in this trial .Patients would also be excluded if the following circumstances occurred: (1) failure of endotracheal intubation; (2) failure of intra-operative gastroscopy; or (3) irresectable tumor.