LONDON (Reuters) - Chewing gum after colon surgery appears to speed up the return of normal bowel function, British researchers said on Monday.
Postoperative ileus, or the inability of the intestines to pass contents, is a common result of abdominal surgery. It causes pain and potential health complications.
Chewing a few sticks of gum, however, could be an effective and low-cost solution.
Sanjay Purkayastha and colleagues at St. Mary's Hospital, London, analysed data from five trials involving 158 patients in which some patients chewed sugarless gum three times a day.
They found patients who chewed gum took an average of 1.1 fewer days to have a bowel movement compared with non-chewers.
Gum chewing is thought to act as a kind of "sham feeding," stimulating nerves in the digestive system, triggering the release of gastrointestinal hormones and increasing the production of saliva and secretions from the pancreas.
The researchers said further large-scale studies were needed to assess the true benefits of gum chewing on reducing ileus, a problem that is estimated to cost $1 billion a year in health-care expenditures in the United States alone.
Their findings were published in the journal Archives of Surgery.
Several drug companies, meanwhile, have been developing treatments for the condition.
Entereg or alvimopan, from GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Adolor Corp, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of post-operative ileus in May.
