Impact of Chewing Gum on Postoperative Gut Motility in Gastrointestinal Surgery Patients

February 16, 2026 updated by: Khyber Medical University Peshawar

Impact of Chewing Gum on Postoperative Gut Motility in Gastrointestinal Surgery Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial at Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan

Postoperative ileus (POI) is a frequent complication after abdominal surgery, leading to delayed gastrointestinal motility, prolonged hospital stay, and increased patient discomfort. Chewing gum, as a form of sham feeding, has been proposed to stimulate gut motility through vagal stimulation and increased gastrointestinal secretions. This randomized controlled trial aims to assess the effect of chewing gum on early recovery of gastrointestinal motility in patients undergoing open gastrointestinal surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This prospective randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether chewing gum reduces the time to return of bowel function after gastrointestinal surgery. Ninety-six adult patients undergoing open gastrointestinal surgery will be randomly allocated into intervention and control groups using block randomization. The intervention group will receive glucose-containing chewing gum starting six hours postoperatively. Outcomes measured include time to first bowel sounds, passage of flatus, and defecation. Statistical analysis will assess differences between groups to determine the efficacy of chewing gum in preventing postoperative ileus.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

96

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age between 17 and 85 years.
  • Patients of either gender.
  • Undergoing open gastrointestinal surgical procedures (elective or emergency).
  • Willing to participate and able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with metabolic or endocrine disorders (diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, or hyperthyroidism).
  • Patients with renal disease or electrolyte imbalance.
  • Patients with chronic constipation or neuromuscular disorders.
  • Patients with substance abuse or drug addiction.
  • Patients receiving medications affecting gut motility (calcium channel blockers or antiepileptic drugs).
  • Patients with dental prosthesis or undergoing laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Chewing Gum Intervention Group
Participants will receive glucose/carbohydrate-containing chewing gum starting 6 hours after surgery. Patients will chew gum for 15 minutes, three times daily, for 48 hours or until first passage of flatus or stool, in addition to standard postoperative care.
Behavioral: Chewing Gum
Participants will chew glucose/carbohydrate-containing chewing gum for 15 minutes, three times daily, starting 6 hours after surgery and continuing for 48 hours or until the first passage of flatus or stool, in addition to standard postoperative care.
No Intervention: Standard Care Control Group
Participants will receive standard postoperative care without chewing gum intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to First Passage of Flatus
Time Frame: Within 48 hours postoperatively
Time interval (in hours) from the end of surgery to the first postoperative passage of flatus, assessed by patient self-report and clinical evaluation.
Within 48 hours postoperatively
Time to First Defecation
Time Frame: Within 48 hours postoperatively
Time interval (in hours) from the end of surgery to the first postoperative bowel movement (defecation), assessed by patient self-report and clinical evaluation.
Within 48 hours postoperatively

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Khyber Medical University Peshawar

Collaborators

Khyber Teaching Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dr Ali Raza, MBBS, Khyber Teaching Hospital
  • Principal Investigator: Dr Munir Ahmed, FCPS, Khyber Teaching Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 25, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 29, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 16, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 16, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KMU/DIR/CTU/2025/14

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data (IPD) related to study outcomes, baseline characteristics, and statistical analyses will be shared with qualified researchers upon reasonable request, after publication of the primary study results. Data will be shared to promote transparency and facilitate further research while ensuring participant confidentiality.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be available beginning 6 months after publication of the primary results and will remain available for up to 5 years.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Access to de-identified IPD will be granted to researchers who provide a methodologically sound research proposal, with approval from the principal investigator and institutional ethical review board. A data use agreement will be required prior to data sharing.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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