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Carbohydrate Loading and Diabetes in Colorectal Surgery

In Individuals With Diabetes Undergoing Elective Colorectal Surgery, Is Carbohydrate Loading Preoperatively Safe? A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04410419
Enrollment
71
Registered
2020-06-01
Start date
2018-03-01
Completion date
2024-12-31
Last updated
2025-08-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Surgery, Surgery--Complications

Brief summary

The goal of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a large study that would assess the safety of carbohydrate drinks (i.e. juice) prior to elective colorectal surgery in patients with type 2 diabetes. Traditionally, prior to surgeries involving a general anesthetic, patients have been told not to eat or drink anything after midnight due to the risk of aspiration. More recent research have shown that it is safe to have clear fluids up to 2 hours before an operation and this is reflected in the current anesthesia clinical guidelines. Moreover, it has been shown that subjecting patients to a state of starvation causes stress on the body that may lead to complications such as poor wound healing, infections, and delayed return to bowel function. A sugar drink before surgery has been shown to be beneficial and can lead to decreased complication rates and decreased length of stay after surgery. However, it is currently not known if it is safe for patients with type 2 diabetes to have a sugar drink before their surgery since they have trouble processing sugars and a subset of patients with diabetes are at increased risk of aspiration due to delayed stomach emptying. This feasibility study is designed to answer the question of whether a large scale trial can be conducted examining the benefits of a pre-operative sugar drink in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Interventions

Carbohydrate drink containing 40g of carbohydrate to be consumed three hours prior to surgery

Sponsors

University of Alberta
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* All adult (\>=18 years of age) patients with an established diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus undergoing elective colorectal surgery at the University of Alberta Hospital, the Grey Nuns Hospital, the Royal Alexandra Hospital or the Misericordia Hospital will be eligible. Only patients treated with diet or oral hypoglycemic agents will be included.

Exclusion criteria

* Subjects \<18 years of age, and those on insulin therapy preoperatively will be excluded.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Mean difference of preoperative glucose between the two groupsPre-operativeExamined in a non-inferiority fashion with NI margin set as 2mmol/L

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
length of stayWithin 30 days of surgery or to dischargeHow long the patient stays in hospital after surgery in days
Surgical site infectionWithin 30 days of surgery or to dischargeWhether a wound infection is noted in hospital
Composite outcome of diabetes-related complicationsWithin 30 days of surgery or to dischargehypoglycemia, DKA, cancellation of surgery, ketosis or perioperative aspiration
Post-operative serum blood glucose concentrationWithin 30 days of surgery or to dischargeSerum blood glucose compiled on a daily basis
Rate of peri-operative insulin useWithin 30 days of surgery or to dischargeWhether insulin or an insulin infusion in the peri-operative period is used
Postoperative complications using the Clavien Dindo scaleWithin 30 days of surgery or to dischargeA composite measure of post-operative complications stratified based on the Clavien Dindo scale from 1-5 with increasing severity from 1 to 5.

Countries

Canada

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026