Chewing Gum and Cold Gargle on Post-Bronchoscopy Symptoms

April 7, 2026 updated by: Neriman Yükseltürk Simşek, Ankara University

The Effect of Chewing Gum and Gargling With Cold Water on Post-Bronchoscopy Sore Throat, Dysphagia, and Patient Satisfaction: A Randomized Controlled Study

This study aims to evaluate the effects of chewing gum and gargling with cold water on common post-bronchoscopy symptoms, such as sore throat and difficulty swallowing (dysphagia). Bronchoscopy is a procedure that can cause temporary throat discomfort. In this randomized controlled trial, patients will be divided into groups to receive either chewing gum, cold water gargle, or standard care. The researchers will then measure and compare patient satisfaction levels and the severity of throat symptoms to determine if these simple interventions can improve patient comfort after the procedure.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Study Implementation and Procedures

All patients in the intervention and control groups will be informed about the study's purpose. Patients undergoing bronchoscopy receive routine verbal education from bronchoscopy nurses. In addition to routine education, the intervention groups will receive specific instructions from the researchers. Patients will be blinded to their randomization status and study hypotheses. However, researchers will not be blinded as they will perform the interventions. The chewing gum and cold water gargle procedures will be explained and demonstrated to the intervention groups during face-to-face interviews.

Chewing Gum Procedure All patients will follow the hospital's standard pre-procedure fasting protocol (8 hours of fasting). A researcher will be responsible for supervising the chewing gum procedure. Patients in this group will be asked to chew a commercially available sugar-free gum containing xylitol for 15 minutes immediately before the procedure. After 15 minutes of chewing, patients will discard the gum. The researcher will ensure the gum is removed before the patient is admitted for bronchoscopy. Patients will be strictly instructed not to swallow the gum.

Cold Water Gargle Procedure Patients in this group will perform a cold water gargle under the supervision of a researcher 15 minutes before the procedure. Patients will be instructed not to swallow the water. The researcher will prepare the water at a temperature between 8-12°C (refrigerator coldness). Patients will gargle twice for 30 seconds each, approximately 15 minutes before the procedure.

Control Group The control group will receive standard hospital procedures without any additional intervention.

Data Collection and Evaluation Sore throat, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), and patient satisfaction levels will be evaluated before the procedure, and at the 2nd and 24th hours post-procedure. The 24-hour evaluation will be conducted via telephone by the research team.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

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 Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye), 06010
        • Recruiting
        • Gulhane Training and Research Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Ferdağ Bölükbaş, PHD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • yakup aslan, md

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • • Being 18 years of age or older

    • Having a scheduled diagnostic bronchoscopy
    • Having normal speech and swallowing functions
    • Being conscious and able to communicate
    • Volunteering to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • • Complications during bronchoscopy

    • Gastroesophageal reflux
    • Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
    • Receiving steroid treatment within 1 week prior to the procedure
    • Active infection or disease in the mouth or throat area
    • History of allergy or intolerance to the procedure
    • Previous anatomical or functional impediment to chewing gum or gargling

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Chewing Gum Group
Patients in this group will chew sugar-free xylitol gum for 15 minutes immediately before bronchoscopy.
Behavioral: Chewing Gum
Patients will chew sugar-free xylitol gum for 15 minutes immediately before the bronchoscopy procedure
Experimental: Cold Water Gargle Group
Patients in this group will gargle with cold water (8-12°C) twice for 30 seconds each, 15 minutes before bronchoscopy.
Behavioral: Cold Water Gargle
Patients will gargle with cold water (8-12°C) twice for 30 seconds each, 15 minutes before the bronchoscopy procedure.
No Intervention: Control Group
Patients in this group will receive standard care without additional interventions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Severity of Post-Bronchoscopy Sore Throat
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-procedure), 2nd hour, and 24th hour post-procedure.
Sore throat severity will be measured using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS), where 0 represents 'no pain' and 10 represents 'the most severe pain imaginable.' Higher scores indicate greater pain severity.
Baseline (pre-procedure), 2nd hour, and 24th hour post-procedure.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Severity of Post-Bronchoscopy Dysphagia
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-procedure), 2nd hour, and 24th hour post-procedure.
Dysphagia severity will be measured using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS), where 0 represents "no difficulty swallowing" and 10 represents "extreme difficulty swallowing." Higher scores indicate greater difficulty swallowing
Baseline (pre-procedure), 2nd hour, and 24th hour post-procedure.
Patient Satisfaction Level
Time Frame: 2nd hour and 24th hour post-procedure.
Patient satisfaction with the procedure and post-operative comfort will be measured using a satisfaction scale (e.g., 0-10 scale or a specific survey). Higher scores indicate higher satisfaction levels.
2nd hour and 24th hour post-procedure.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ankara University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: neriman yükseltürk şimşek, ankara u

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)

November 10, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 11, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 11, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 2, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 7, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2025/177

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared to protect participant privacy and confidentiality.

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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