Chewing gum significantly reduces postoperative ileus duration

A multicentre randomized controlled trial involving 52 patients revealed that chewing gum can significantly shorten postoperative ileus following laparotomy for gastroduodenal perforations. The median duration of ileus was reduced by 21.5 hours in patients who chewed gum compared to those who did not (28.5 hours vs. 50 hours, p=0.002). Additionally, the length of hospital stay decreased by 2.5 days in the gum group (5.4 days vs. 7.9 days, p=0.007) with no increase in complications.