None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
There is some international evidence that chewing gum after abdominal surgery reduces postoperative pain and nausea, as well as reducing a complication of surgery called ileus. Ileus is a condition where the bowel (intestines) goes on ‘strike’ for a short time. While the bowel is in ileus you cannot eat or drink and are reliant on intravenous care in hospital. Ileus resolves without specific treatment but can take days or weeks and can cause secondary problems. Chewing gum may help reduce ileus by stimulating the bowel through a mechanism called the gastrocephalic reflex, though it is not fully understood. Results internationally are varied and may not be applicable to New Zealand as postoperative management is different in different countries.
Interventions
Chewing gum (single piece of sugar-free) three times a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for at least thirty minutes from the first mealtime postoperatively until discharge. Time to discharge will vary between patients. Patients are normally discharged once they are opening their bowels adequately, are managing a light diet, their pain is manageable with oral anlgesia, they are mobilising adequately to be safe at home, are able to manage their colostomy if applicable, there are no other complicatio
Chewing gum (single piece of sugar-free) three times a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for at least thirty minutes from the first mealtime postoperatively until discharge. Time to discharge will vary between patients. Patients are normally discharged once they are opening their bowels adequately, are managing a light diet, their pain is manageable with oral anlgesia, they are mobilising adequately to be safe at home, are able to manage their colostomy if applicable, there are no other complications from surgery.
Sponsors
Dr Katherine Hulme
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Elective open abdominal surgery, able to chew gum safely, under a surgeon who has agreed for their patients to be involved in this trial
Exclusion criteria
Transfer to another hospital, unable to give written consent
Outcome results
None listed