NCT07407530

Comparison of 'Sip Til Send' Regimens Prior to Elective Caesarean Delivery Using Bedside Gastric Ultrasound: a Randomized Study Comparing Water With Carbohydrate-rich Drink

Recruiting now NA Last updated 9 February 2026

What this trial tests

NA trial testing The carbohydrate group represent the interventional group and will utilise the standard carbohydrate-rich drink in Gastric Emptying in 190 participants. Currently enrolling.

Timeline

1 August 2025

Primary endpoint
1 August 2026

1 December 2026

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	The Rotunda Hospital
Phase	NA
Status	Recruiting now
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	double
Primary purpose	supportive care
Enrollment	190
Start date	1 August 2025
Primary completion	1 August 2026
Estimated completion	1 December 2026
Sites	2 locations across Ireland

Drugs / interventions tested

• The carbohydrate group represent the interventional group and will utilise the standard carbohydrate-rich drink
• The "water group" — full drug profile →

Conditions studied

• Gastric Emptying — all drugs for Gastric Emptying →
• Caesarean Delivery — all drugs for Caesarean Delivery →
• Pregnancy — all drugs for Pregnancy →

Sponsor

The Rotunda Hospital

Who can join

18 and older, female only, with Gastric Emptying or Caesarean Delivery. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

What's being measured

Primary outcomes are the specific endpoints the trial is designed to prove or disprove.

• 24-hour Obstetric Quality of Recovery-10 (ObsQoR-10) scores
  Time frame: From enrollment to around 24 hours after delivery (+/- 4 hours).
  Compare the 24-hour quality of recovery scores : At around 24 hours after delivery (+/- 4 hours), women will be approached for a single follow-up visit where they will be asked to complete an obstetric-specific quality of recovery score (ObsQoR-10). This is scale from 0 to 100, with a higher number indicating a better quality of recovery.
• Gastric antrum CSA
  Time frame: From enrollment until just before their cesarean delivery.
  Compare the gastric antrum CSA immediately prior to caesarean delivery: 'fasting' gastric ultrasound will be performed in a standardised manner prior to randomization, Prior to their CD, participants will undergo a second gastric ultrasound scan immediately prior to surgery.

Sponsor's own description

'Sip Til send' is a liberal drinking policy that replaces fasting before a caesarean delivery, meaning that women waiting in hospital can freely drink sips of water until they are called from the ward for their delivery. Studies has shown that 'Sip Til send' is safe and it improves the experience around surgery. Separate from this, drinking carbohydrate-rich drinks at specified time intervals before surgery is also recommended by international guidelines as part of a package of care aimed at enhancing recovery from surgery, and studies demonstrate that carbohydrate drinks significantly lower hunger sensation before caesarean delivery. The aim of this study is to combine these two interventions and compare the effects of sipping water against sipping carbohydrate drinks whilst waiting for a caesarean delivery and look at the stomach contents before delivery to ensure it is a safe practice and look at how women rate the quality of their recovery to see which practice is preferred. We will recruit women due to have an elective caesarean delivery whilst awake with a spinal anaesthetic at the Rotunda Hospital and only include those who are fully fasted on their arrival and would be candidates for the current 'Sip Til Send' policy. They will then be assigned to one of two groups, the "water" group who will be encouraged to sip water whilst waiting for surgery, and the "carbohydrate" group who will be encouraged to sip a standardised carbohydrate-rich drink instead. Using a bedside ultrasound machine, we will image the stomach and estimate the volume of liquid contents on two occasions; first, following recruitment to the study when fully fasted and before starting 'Sip Til Send', and second is immediately prior to surgery. Fluid intake will be closely monitored, and all participants will be asked to complete a short questionnaire the day after their delivery that asks them to rate aspects of their recovery. Participants and their newborns will not undergo any additional invasive testing for the study. Participants and their newborns will not undergo any additional invasive testing for the study, but consent will be sought to test women's urine for ketones (collected from the catheter bag during surgery). Medical notes will also be looked at after discharge to identify adverse outcomes such as nausea or vomiting during surgery and low blood sugar in the newborn. The study should run for approximately 3 to 6 months.

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial.