Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Boston Children's Hospital

Code:

NCT05674643

Conditions

Fasting

Delayed Gastric Emptying

Aspiration Pneumonia

Respiratory Aspiration of Gastric Content

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 2 - 18

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Gastric Ultrasound Baseline Scans

Acetaminophen Absorption Test (AAT)

Gastric Ultrasound Serial Scans

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this pilot prospective cohort study is to examine the reproducibility of gastric volume and emptying as measured by gastric ultrasound and its correlation to a gold-standard test for gastric emptying in the perioperative period in pediatric patients. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • What is the reliability (inter-rater variability between expert and novice assessors, and intra-rater variability) of a) the gastric antral cross-sectional area (CSA) and b) gastric volume using the Perlas US qualitative grading assessment, measured by using an ultrasound device in pediatric patients undergoing general anesthesia for elective surgery?
  • What is the correlation between ultrasound assessment of gastric emptying by the antral-CSA and gastric emptying determined by the acetaminophen absorption test (AAT), the gold standard?

The study will include two cohorts. Cohort assignment will be based on age and anesthesia induction plan. Subjects >7yrs of age and expected to get an IV induction will be assigned to Cohort #1. Subjects <7yrs of age and not expected to get an IV induction will be assigned to Cohort #2.

  • Cohort 1 will include abdominal ultrasound for gastric assessment AND the acetaminophen absorption test which includes administering enteral acetaminophen (tylenol) with 6 oz of water and drawing of blood samples through a peripheral intravenous line.
  • Cohort 2 will include subjects for whom a peripheral intravenous line placement is not part of routine pre-operative care. Procedures for Cohort 2 will include abdominal ultrasound only in the pre-op area (no tylenol). This cohort is included to examine the reliability of measurements across age groups.

Conditions

Fasting

Delayed Gastric Emptying

Aspiration Pneumonia

Respiratory Aspiration of Gastric Content

Study ID

NCT05674643

Start date

Feb 1, 2023

Status verified date

Mar, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 2 - 18

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Perioperative patients with ASA classification 1-2
  • Ages: 2 years- less than 18 years
  • Locations: Longwood and Waltham campuses of Boston Childrens Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of gastrointestinal surgery
  • Gastrostomy
  • Known GI dysmotility (cohort 1 only)
  • Acetaminophen allergy (cohort 1 only)
  • Liver or renal dysfunction- pre-diagnosed or, if available, when serum biomarkers are 2 standard deviations above the highest value considered normal for age. (cohort 1 only)
  • Consumption of acetaminophen in the 4 hours prior (cohort 1 only)

Study Design

Enrollment

60 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

Cohort 1 - ultrasound and acetaminophen

Cohort 1 will include subjects who have a peripheral intravenous line placed in the pre-op area per routine care. This cohort is on average age 7 years and older. Procedures for cohort 1 will include: (a) gastric US measurement of the antral CSA and gastric volume using the Perlas US qualitative grading assessment by an expert and a novice operator to determine the inter-rater class reliability and repeat measurements by each operator to assess the intra-rater reliability (Aim 1), and (b) serial abdominal ultrasounds for gastric assessment and the acetaminophen absorption test to determine the correlation between gastric US and a gold-standard for gastric emptying (Aim 2). The acetaminophen absorption test requires administering a single weight-based enteral dose of acetaminophen with 6 oz of water and drawing of blood samples through a peripheral intravenous line.

Cohort 2 - ultrasound only

Cohort 2 will include subjects for whom a peripheral intravenous line placement is not part of routine pre-operative care. Average age for cohort 2 is age less than 7 years old. Procedures for Cohort 2 will include a gastric US measurement of the antral CSA and gastric volume using Perlas US qualitative grading assessment by an expert and a novice operator to determine the inter-rater class reliability and repeat measurements by each operator for the intra-rater reliability (Aim 1). This cohort is included to examine the reliability of measurements across age groups.

Interventions

Gastric Ultrasound Baseline Scans

The patient's abdomen will be scanned using the ultrasound device by an expert scanner and novice scanner for baseline assessment of the antral CSA and gastric volume using Perlas US qualitative grading assessment.

Acetaminophen Absorption Test (AAT)

Prior to starting the AAT, a baseline plasma acetaminophen level (250 microliters) will be obtained from the intravenous catheter. The subject will then be given 12.5 mg/kg or max 650mg of single batch 32mg/mL acetaminophen followed by 6oz of water PO. Up to 3 additional small volume blood samples will be drawn for acetaminophen levels.

These additional blood samples (250 microliters each) will be obtained to measure acetaminophen plasma levels at the following goal intervals after acetaminophen administration.T1:10-20 mins, T2:35-45 mins, T3: 60mins. At the time of each lab draw gastric ultrasound will be assessed by the expert scanner to correlate gastric ultrasound with the acetaminophen absorption test as a gold-standard of gastric emptying.

Gastric Ultrasound Serial Scans

Cohort 1 will have multiple scans as part of assessing gastric emptying. These sequential scans after the baseline assessment will be done in line with the Acetaminophen Absorption Test timeline (T1:10-20 mins, T2:35-45 mins, T3: 60mins) and will be performed by an expert scanner only.

Primary outcome measure

  • Inter-rater reliability [ Time Frame: 1 year ]
  • Intra-rater reliability [ Time Frame: 1 year ]
  • Gastric Emptying [ Time Frame: 1 year ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Locations

Boston Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Walid Alrayashi, MD

More Information

Sponsor

Boston Children's Hospital

Last update posted

Apr 2, 2026

Last verified

Mar, 2026

Keywords

  • gastric ultrasound
  • pre-operative fasting

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Boston Children's Hospital on 2026-04-02.