Background: Perioperative fasting period can be very variable which must be quantified at institutional level so that the institutions can re-formulate their local policies while adapting to updated national and international guidelines. Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to ascertain the total duration of perioperative fasting among patients who underwent extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation at the institution during 2016-2022 (a seven-year period). Methods: A query was run by information technology team in the institutional electronic medical records to extract lists of de-identified patients who underwent extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation at the institution during 2016-2022 wherein total perioperative fasting time was calculated from Last Food Intake to In Phase I Time (for solids) and Last Fluid Intake to In Phase I Time (for liquids). Results: Data of 6722 patients was analyzed wherein patients had 4-48 hours of nothing by mouth in terms of fluid perioperatively and 10-48 hours nothing by mouth in terms of food perioperatively. Perioperative fasting durations were in double digits across all age and sex based groups whether it was the mean duration with its confidence limits or median duration with its lower and upper quartiles. Conclusion: Rather than remaining in single digits, perioperative enteral fasting durations were very commonly in double digits at the institution among its patients undergoing extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding.

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