Which physical examinations require fasting?

As people in modern society pay more and more attention to their health, many friends have developed the habit of annual physical examinations. Because this allows them to know their physical health at all times, and make the best judgment on some hidden disease symptoms, so as to avoid the occurrence of diseases. So which physical examinations require fasting? Regarding this issue, please discuss with me in the next time.

"You need to be on an empty stomach for the physical examination." Friends who have undergone a physical examination all have the impression that the nurse repeatedly reminds you not to eat after 8 o'clock in the evening and to come early the next morning to have your blood drawn. However, not all physical examinations require fasting and need to be treated differently.

Whether you need to fast depends on the examination items. The three routine tests (blood routine, stool routine, urine routine) can be done at any time without fasting. Electrocardiogram, CT, chest X-ray and other examinations that do not involve digestion and metabolism generally do not require fasting. Just ask clearly about what specific preparations you need to make before the inspection. The inspection agency will give you specific precautions on what to do, so just make preparations as required. Here is why some examinations require fasting.

Why is a fasting physical examination performed?

Fasting is mainly aimed at some specific items that are easily affected by eating: gastrointestinal endoscopy, abdominal ultrasound, blood sugar, blood lipids, biochemistry, metabolism and other examinations.

Gastrointestinal endoscopy: It is easy to understand that fasting is required during gastrointestinal endoscopy, because the surface of the gastrointestinal tract must be cleaned so that the condition of the mucous membrane on the surface of the gastrointestinal tract can be seen. Residues of food or digestive juices will seriously affect the observation.

Abdominal ultrasound examination: Fasting is required because the entire digestive system starts to become active after a meal: bile is secreted, the gallbladder contracts, the motility of the digestive tract increases and speeds up, and the gas and fluid content in the gastrointestinal tract increases. . . This can seriously interfere with ultrasound examinations, which rely on real-time feedback.

Blood drawing: Blood sugar, blood lipids, biochemical and other indicators are also greatly affected by eating. After eating, food is broken down into small molecules and enters the blood, affecting various indicators. Unless it is an emergency condition, it does not have much reference value. It is only meaningful to draw blood on an empty stomach and make comparisons under a unified "standard".

Fasting means being hungry?

The fasting mentioned in the physical examination is not as commonly understood as skipping a meal. The fasting standard is 8-14 hours (overnight) without caloric intake, that is, the night before the blood draw, you should eat dinner normally according to your usual lifestyle, but no midnight snack, and do not eat breakfast for the examination the next morning.

The best fasting time is 8-14 hours overnight, but if the fasting time reaches more than 18 hours, the body will be in a state of mild hunger. When in a state of hunger, the comparison is no longer based on uniform standards, and the measured results cannot be used as a reference for diagnosis. For example, blood sugar and blood ketone bodies are greatly affected by hunger.

The above paragraphs have given us a good answer to the question of which physical examinations require fasting. I sincerely hope that all friends can read the above content carefully, so that they can be fully prepared for daily physical examinations and get the most accurate physical examination results. Of course, I hope that everyone can continue to maintain the habit of annual physical examinations, which is a responsible performance for our bodies.