Abstract: Objective: To systematically analyze the effects of preoperative oral carbohydrates in children before selective surgery. Methods: Articles on the topic of preoperative oral carbohydrates in children before selective surgery with RCT design were searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Database. All the data were Meta-analyzed. Results: Seven RCTs were included, with 700 participants, and 420 participants in the experiment group and 280 in the control group. The Meta-analysis showed the carbohydrate drinking before selective surgery for children did not affect the preoperative residual gastric volume and the postoperative blood glucose, and it also did not decrease the pH of gastric fluid, while it could improve the intraoperative sedation level, reduce the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, and improve the insulin level. Conclusion: Preoperative oral carbohydrate preoperative diet for children was relatively safety and feasibility, but the evidence is insufficient. There were differences in sample size, intervention methods, time and frequency of each study, and more evidence is needed for its popularize in pediatrics clinical practice.

Key words: preoperative; oral carbohydrate; diet management; pediatrics; Meta-analysis