Sugarless chewing gum and postoperative ileus following abdominal surgery in two referral hospitals in the Southwest Region of Cameroon

Background: Postoperative ileus is common after abdominal surgery and usually delays recovery. It is hypothesized that chewing gum accelerates postoperative transit recovery. Sugarless chewing gum may therefore produce the same effect after abdominal surgery. Method: A randomized control trial was carried out for a period of 3 months in two referral hospitals in the southwest region of Cameroon. A total of 100 patients were randomly selected and divided into 2 groups: case group (n=50) and control group (n=50). In the case group, patients chewed sugarless gums for 30 minutes every 8 hours, until resumption of intestinal transit. Data were collected using a structured data collection form to assess the occurrence of first flatus, first bowel sound, resumption of feeding and length of hospital stay. Patients’ demography, surgical indication, intra operative and postoperative management was the same in both groups. Sugarless chewing gum was well tolerated by all patients. Results: The first flatus occurred in 23 hours post operation in the case group and 33 hours in the control group (p=0.019), return of bowel sound occurred in 19 hours post operation in the case group and 27 hours in the control group (P=0.020), patients resumed feeding in 23 hours post operation in the case group and 34 hours in the control group (P=0.006).The mean hospital stay was 3.08 ±4.14 days in the case group and 4.42±5.33 days in the control group. Conclusion: Our study suggests that Sugarless chewing gum stimulates bowel motility and therefore helps ameliorates postoperative ileus.