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Table 4 Risk factors for aspiration (Zargar-Shoshtari et al. 2009)

From: American Society for Enhanced Recovery (ASER) and Perioperative Quality Initiative (POQI) joint consensus statement on prevention of postoperative infection within an enhanced recovery pathway for elective colorectal surgery

Patient factors

(a) Full stomach

 · Emergency surgery

 · Inadequate fasting time

 · Gastrointestinal obstruction

(b) Delayed gastric emptying

 · Systemic diseases, i.e., diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease

 · Recent trauma

 · Opioids

 · Raised intracranial pressure

 · Previous gastrointestinal surgery

 · Pregnancy (including active labor)

(c) Incompetent lower esophageal sphincter

 · Hiatus hernia

 · Recurrent regurgitation

 · Dyspepsia

 · Previous upper gastrointestinal surgery

 · Pregnancy

(d) Esophageal diseases

 · Previous gastrointestinal surgery

 · Morbid obesity

Surgical factors

Upper gastrointestinal surgery

 · Lithotomy or head down position

 · Laparoscopy

 · Cholecystectomy

Anesthetic factors

Light anesthesia

 · Supraglottic airways

 · Positive pressure ventilation

 · Length of surgery >2 h

 · Difficult airway

Device factors

First-generation supraglottic airway devices