談手術前禁食對病患之影響

Discussion of the Influence of Fasting before Operation

本文旨在探討常規手術前禁食時間，對病患身體及心理之影響。從醫學的角度來看，手術前午夜後禁食之目的是保持胃完全排空，避免手術中吸入性肺炎合併症產生。但從護理倫理的觀點而言，病患利益應為優先考量，目前國內大多數常規手術之病患手術前禁食的時間都過長，導致有口渴、飢餓、焦慮等症狀，因此護理人員應主動提供病患可減少因禁食過久導致身心壓力的資訊。然而，任何解決策略都不能適合所有的情況，醫界與護理界必須有效的溝通並持續緊密合作，根據禁食最新資訊，有效的推行相關措施。

This article aims at probing into the preoperative fasting time and its influence on the patients’ physiological and mental status. From the medical point of view, the purpose of fasting after mid-night is to keep the stomach totally empty before operation to prevent the complication of aspiration pneumonia. However, from the view of nursing ethics, patients’ interests should be considered to be a first priority. Fasting time for most domestic routine operation is too long at present, causing some unexpected symptoms, such as thirsty, hunger, and anxiety, etc. Nursing staff should actively offer patients the information which can reduce the physical and psychological pressure due to long fasting time before operation. However, no strategy can be suitable for all situations. Doctors and nurses should communicate more effectively and cooperate more closely to implement the most updated and ideal strategy.