Author Spotlight: Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Gastric Content Assessment and Risk Stratification in Perioperative Care

Current NPO guidelines do not specifically address patients with delayed gastric emptying or bowel obstruction. Utilizing point of care ultrasound to assess the gastric contents allows providers to have more accurate information regarding these patients, and appropriately risk stratify their likelihood of pulmonary aspiration. These protocols will hopefully allow perioperative practitioners to better assess the gastric contents of patients requiring sedation or endotracheal intubation.

With more accurate data, the practitioner will be better able to risk stratify and minimize the likelihood of pulmonary aspiration. Portions of this protocol will be utilized to research the gastric emptying patterns of unique patient populations, such as those with diabetes, bowel obstructions, hiatal hernias, or who are taking the novel medication glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists.