Background:Burns in developing countries account for significant morbidity and mortality which have been shown by increasing burn first aid awareness. In general, flames, scalds, and contact burns are the most common causes, but in children scalds are the most common.Objectives:This study aims to assess the general knowledge and practices related to burn first aid among Majmaah community.Methods:This study is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected in 2018 using convenience sampling technique. Saudi men and women age 18 years and older living in Majmaah were included in the study. Data were collected from 390 males and females. The sample size was collected using precision formula. Data were encoded into Microsoft Excel worksheets and imported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS®) software for analysis.Results:A total of 390 individuals responded to the survey. Regarding the demographic data of the study participants, 49.2% were between 30 and 49 years old. Most of them were females (71.8%). Regarding burn first aid knowledge, 82.6% of the study participants knew that the first thing is to stop, drop, and roll when your clothes catch fire, 43.8% knew to apply cold water if hot oil spills on the hands, 41.0% knew that all burn injuries must be treated at hospital, whereas most of them 78.5% knew never to apply raw eggs or herbs to burn wounds.Conclusion:The knowledge of Majmaah community toward first aid is found to be low in spite of most of the respondents having a positive attitude toward first aid. The majority of the study participants (73.8%) were well-educated and had a bachelor's degree.

Although recent reports discourage preoperative overnight fasting, many clinicians and surgeons still recommend 6-8 hours of overnight preoperative fasting before conducting elective surgeries. On the other hand, recent guidelines from worldwide multiple anesthesiology societies have suggested that overnight fasting should be approached with flexible durations and proper techniques. Many complications can result from prolonged fasting and preoperative starvation as the duration of fasting usually lasts for more than 12 hours secondary to intraoperative surgical delays. In this literature review, the aim was to discuss the current evidence from studies in the literature about the effect of preoperative starvation and the effect of carbohydrate (CHO) loading on the clinical outcomes of patients. We have noticed that gastric aspiration and respiratory damage can be prevented by preoperative fasting. However, this can lead to the development of other complications such as insulin resistance, a fierce immune response and exaggerated release of acute-phase reactants which might lead to severe organ damage and worsened patient’s prognosis. Accordingly, CHO loading should be carefully approached to properly intervene against these cases to enhance the prognosis of the prospective surgeries and the quality of care for patients.