Introduction: Pain, opioid intake, and elevated stress levels in preoperative surgical patients has been shown to delay gastric emptying.1-3 This may leave patients at potential risk for pulmonary aspiration when a laryngeal mask airway device (LMA) is used for general anesthesia4. This pilot study was undertaken to determine if there are predictors of increased gastric volume in patients receiving concurrent opioid therapy. Methods: Following IRB approval it was determined that patient consent was not required. On the day of surgery, patients having fasted for 6-8 hours undergoing orthopedic surgical procedures for traumatic injuries and having received treatment with opioids for at least 24 hours prior to surgery were queried as to whether they were experiencing pain, nausea, or hunger. Following the induction of general anesthesia, gastric volumes were measured using an orogastric tube and a 50cc irrigation syringe for suction. Preoperative numeric pain scores and opioid intake over the preceding 24 hours were recorded for comparison. Results: The average gastric volume among the 56 patients studied was 11.94 ml which was below the accepted threshold volume for serious aspiration risk of 25ml. Gastric volume did not correlate with preoperative opioid use, elevated pain scores, body-mass index, sensations of nausea, hunger, or any combination of these factors. The average gastric volume of patients indicating that they felt hungry was 11.1 ml, essentially identical to that of the patients who said they were not hungry of 11.9ml. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that sensations of hunger or nausea are unreliable predictors of gastric volume. Overall, preoperative opioid intake and elevated pain scores did not contribute to increased gastric volume, and do not represent a contraindication to the use of a laryngeal mask airway for general anesthesia.