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RE: WHY ARE WE NOT ALLOWED TO EAT OR DRINK BEFORE GENERAL ANAESTHESIA?
Aspiration pneumonia is a bitch. Small risk, but at least in the USSA where we have muli-million dollar lawsuits for much less.......the recommendation will continue.
It is not always the eating before selective surgery, the real problem is that some parents and patients suddenly became strangers to the truth and do not tell the anaethetist that the baby had a bottle of milk or the patient ate a full breakfast, they simply say they did not eat anything since the previous night and you do believe them. If the anaethetists are aware that the patients have eaten, they can post-pone the case for a couple of hours. It will give the anaethetist the opportunity to take the necessary precautions to protect the pt's airways when intubation takes place.