A randomized clinical study for assessing gastric emptying by point-of-care ultrasound in obese and diabetics following Standard NPO guidelines in patient posted for elective surgery.

Pulmonary aspiration is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during general anesthesia, and although standard fasting guidelines are used to reduce this risk, they may not be reliable in patients with conditions like diabetes or obesity that affect gastric emptying. Diabetic patients, in particular, are prone to gastroparesis, increasing the likelihood of a full stomach despite adequate fasting. Point-of-care gastric ultrasonography has emerged as a valuable, noninvasive tool to assess gastric contents and volume in real time, helping to better estimate aspiration risk. While obese patients are also considered at higher risk, evidence regarding delayed gastric emptying in this group is inconsistent, and other factors may contribute to their increased anesthetic risk. Therefore, this study aims to use ultrasonography to compare fasting gastric volume between obese diabetic and non-obese diabetic patients undergoing elective surgery.