Abstract
Introduction: Postoperative ileus is commonly seen following ileostomy reversal and can often be a cause of prolonged hospital stay. ‘Gum chewing’ has been proposed to reduce postoperative ileus by stimulating intestinal motility through a variety of possible mechanisms. This randomized control trial was conducted to compare the mean duration of postoperative ileus following ileostomy reversal with gum chewing versus without gum chewing.
Materials & Methods: A total of 100 patients who previously had ileostomy made for typhoid perforation, now undergoing ileostomy reversal, 14 to 70 years of age and of both genders were included. The selected patients were then placed randomly into two groups i.e. Group A (Gum chewing) & Group B (Non-Gum chewing). Duration of postoperative ileus was defined as the time interval between operation and passage of first flatus measured in hours.
Results: The mean age of patients in group A was 36.44 ± 15.41 years and in the group, B was 39.08 ± 16.67 years. The majority of the patients 41 (41.0%) were between 14 to 30 years of age. Out of 100 patients, 68 (68.0%) were males and 32 (32.0%) were females with male to female ratio of 2.1:1. The mean duration of postoperative ileus in Group A (gum chewing) was 60.62 ± 7.37 hours while in Group B (non-gum chewing) was 74.22 ± 6.01 hours (p-value = 0.000).
Conclusion: This study concluded that the mean duration of postoperative ileus following ileostomy reversal is shorter in patients with gum chewing added to their postoperative care as compared to those without gum chewing.

Key words: Postoperative ileus, ileostomy reversal, gum chewing