Popivanov P, et al. - Researchers used ultrasonography to evaluate the gastric emptying of preoperative carbohydrate (CHO) drinks before elective caesarean delivery. They performed a standardised gastric ultrasound evaluation of non-labouring pregnant women awaiting elective caesarean delivery, at baseline and then every 20 min for 2 h following consumption of 400 mL of a CHO drink after a standard overnight fast. Both qualitative and quantitative assessments for gastric emptying were carried out at each time-point. The time needed to return to a qualitative fasted Perlas grade of 0 or 1 was assessed as the primary outcome. Return to either grade 0 or 1 by 100 min was found in all patients. The antral right lateral decubitus cross sectional area of 8.03 cm² and gastric volume per kg of 1.57 mL/kg were identified at 120 min. Overall, the safety of consumption of 400 mL of a CHO drink up to two hours prior to elective surgery was suggested by the gastric emptying of this cohort of pregnant women.