The term NPO means the patient should have?

• A. Nothing to eat
• B. Nothing to eat or drink
• C. Nothing to drink
• D. Nothing by mouth

Answer: (B)

NPO means nothing by mouth. This indicates no intake of anything through the mouth, including both solid food and fluids. It’s used before surgeries or certain procedures to keep the stomach empty and reduce the risk of aspiration if the patient loses protective airway reflexes under sedation or anesthesia. So the patient should have nothing to eat or drink. The other options would still allow some oral intake—nothing to eat would permit liquids, nothing to drink would permit solids—whereas nothing by mouth conveys the full restriction, typically described in plain terms as nothing to eat or drink.