DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i12.068

Pages: 5151-5157

Post-surgical procedures patient develops post-operative ileus secondary to inflammatory mediator release following intense intestinal manipulation during intraoperative period which is manifested as abdominal discomfort, bloating, constipation, belching, abdominal distension and delayed flatulence. If post-operative ileus is not resolved by 5th post-operative day, it is termed as prolonged post-operative ileus (PPOI). Chewing gums are hypothesized to accelerate gastrointestinal motility, hence may be helpful in reducing prolonged post-operative ileus. To study the role, safety and effect of chewing gum in reducing post-operative ileus after an open appendectomy procedure in paediatric age group. A double blind parallel randomised control study was conducted among 100 paediatric age patients who underwent an open appendectomy procedure with 50 patients each in control and study group over duration of 1 year from august 2016 to September 2017 in Bankura Sammilani Medical College, Bankura. Patients were equally and randomly allocated in control and study groups. Control group received the usual post-operative protocol (nasogastric tube, antibiotic coverage etc) whereas the study group in addition to usual postoperative protocol were prescribed sugar free chewing gum from 1st post-operative onwards three times a day. Both the group were monitored in terms of patient related outcomes, clinical parameters and inflammatory markers. Desired end points of time for first flatus and defecation, at least 24 hrs tolerance to solid oral feeds were considered and analysed subsequently. All analysis was done by using IBM Statistical package for the social sciences 24 and MS excel. No significant difference could be demonstrated between the two study groups in terms of age, sex, duration of surgery, intraoperative complication and patient related outcomes. Analysis of primary study variable elicits that time for first flatus, time for first defecation, time for first oral feed, to