Key result
Chewing gum significantly reduced the time to first passage of flatus (49.07 vs 61.74 hours, p<0.001) and length of hospital stay compared to standard care in patients undergoing laparotomy.
Why the study?
The study was conducted to investigate the effect of gum chewing on recovery from post-operative ileus after elective and emergency laparotomy surgeries.
Does chewing gum reduce post-operative ileus and improve return of gut motility in adult patients undergoing elective and emergency laparotomy surgeries?
RCT (n=101)
Open-label
Randomized
No
Does chewing gum reduce post-operative ileus and improve return of gut motility in adult patients undergoing elective and emergency laparotomy surgeries?
Absolute Event Rate: 49.07% vs 61.74%
p-value: p=<0.001
Chewing gum significantly reduces the time to flatus, time to feces, and length of hospital stay in patients recovering from elective and emergency laparotomy surgeries.
Supports chewing gum post-laparotomy to shorten ileus and stay; confirms sham feeding benefit in RCT.
Objective: To investigate the effect of gum chewing on recovery from post-operative ileus after elective and emergency laparotomy surgeries. Methodology: A prospective randomized study, consisting of 101 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria was undertaken at Bangalore Baptist Hospital, Bengaluru, from January 2014 to December 2015. Commercially available chewing gum was used. The outcome of interest was time to flatus, time to bowel movement, and length of hospital stay. Results: There were significant reductions in the time to flatus and time to feces between the study group and the control group. The patients in the group got discharged a day earlier as compared to the patients in the control group {Study group (7.87 +/- 1.8 days). Control group (9.085 +/- 1.26days)}. Conclusion: In this study, the efficacy of chewing gum on post-operative ileus was well appreciated. The study group had early recovery as compared to the control group.
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Keerthiraj et al. (2020) conducted an RCT in Post-operative ileus after laparotomy (n=101). Chewing gum vs. No chewing gum (standard care) was evaluated on Time to first passage of flatus (p=<0.001). Chewing gum significantly reduced the time to first passage of flatus (49.07 vs 61.74 hours, p<0.001) and length of hospital stay compared to standard care in patients undergoing laparotomy.
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