Effect of Xylitol Gum Chewing on Postoperative Bowel Activity

Efficacy of Chewing Xylitol Gum on Restoring Postoperative Bowel Activity After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Three-Arm Randomised Controlled Trial

Altogether, 75 patients undergoing elective laparoscopy cholecystectomy were randomly divided into 3 groups (final numbers, xylitol chewing gum: 24 controls, xylitol free chewing gum:25 and control 25 patients). Controls underwent a routine postoperative regimen. Both groups chewed gum 3 times a day except the control group. Other postoperative management was routine. First flatus, first bowel movement, first defecation, first mobilization time, and discharge time from hospital were recorded. Symptoms included nausea, and vomiting.

Purpose: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has become the standard treatment for gallbladder surgery due to its advantages over open surgery. However, postoperative ileus (POI) remains a common complication. Gum chewing has been proposed to stimulate bowel function post-surgery, but it's unclear whether xylitol in gum influences outcomes. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of postoperative xylitol gum chewing on gastrointestinal functional recovery after laparoscopy.

Design: A Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial Methods: Altogether, 75 patients undergoing elective laparoscopy cholecystectomy were randomly divided into 3 groups (final numbers, xylitol chewing gum: 24 controls, xylitol free chewing gum:25 and control 25 patients). Controls underwent a routine postoperative regimen. Both groups chewed gum 3 times a day except the control group. Other postoperative management was routine. The first flatus, first bowel movement, first defecation, first mobilization time, and discharge time from the hospital were recorded. Symptoms included nausea and vomiting.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Turkish-speaking,
• Verbal communication,
• Cognitive abilities are normal,
• No psychiatric diagnosis,
• 40 to 65 years old,
• He's having a laparoscopic cholecystectomy,
• ASA (American Society of Anaesthesiologists) Score-I and II,
• who has no problem chewing gum,
• who's going to have scheduled surgery,
• The prescribed duration of surgery not exceeding 100 minutes,
• Patients whose oral intake was to be opened after 6 hours.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Having emergency surgery,
• Liver failure,
• Kidney failure,
• Muscle disease
• Those with a known allergy to the anesthesia drugs used and morbidly obese,
• The one with the walking problem,
• The one with the jaw problem,
• Patients who cannot be contacted,
• With a post-operative nasogastric tube,
• Patients whose oral intake would be opened less than 6 hours were excluded from the study.