The impact of chewing gum on postoperative bowel activity and postoperative pain after total laparoscopic hysterectomy.

The impact of chewing gum on postoperative bowel activity and postoperative pain after total laparoscopic hysterectomy. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 Oct 14;:1-5 Authors: Turkay Ü, Yavuz A, Hortu İ, Terzi H, Kale A Abstract We aimed to investigate the effects of chewing gum on bowel activity and postoperative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy. Patients were randomised into two groups (n = 58, study; n = 51, control). In the study group, patients started chewing sugarless gum every 2 h for 15 min, beginning at the second postoperative hour. The control group did not chew gum, and they received standard postoperative care. Both groups were compared primarily in terms of the amount of time until the first bowel movement, the time of the first passage of flatus and the time of first defaecation. The amount of time until the first bowel movement, the time of the first passage of flatus and the time of the first defaecation were found to be significantly shorter in the chewing gum group (p < .001). The amount of postoperative analgesics that were needed and VAS scores at 6-hours and 24-hours postoperatively, were found to be lower in the study group than in the control group (p < .001). Chewing gum was found to have beneficial effects on bowel motility and postoperative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy. This affordable and simple method could be recommended to patients after to...
Source: Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Category: OBGYN Tags: J Obstet Gynaecol Source Type: research