Chewing gum enhances bowel function recovery in patients after posterior lumbar fusion surgery

Abstract:

Objective：To determine whether chewing gum can enhance the recovery of bowel function in patients after posterior lumbar fusion（PLF） surgery. Methods：A retrospective comparative study was performed on 65 patients who were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation and received PLF surgery between January 2016 and September 2016 in Department of Orthopedics in The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. Thirty patients in the study group started chewing gum every 4 hours，2 grain every time，and at least for 15 minutes，3 hours after they were awaken of the anesthesia. When the first passage of flatus happened，the chewing frequency was increased to every 8 hours，until 5 days postoperative. While the other 35 patients in the control group chewed nothing. The time of first bowel sounds heard，the first passage of flatus，the first passage of defecation，and hospitalization，hospitalization ex－penses and complication were all recorded and analyzed. Results：Patients in the study group had less time of the first bowel sounds heard[（12.35±2.87） h vs. （17.10±2.59） h，t=-7.007，P=0.000]，the first passage of flatus[（17.34±2.86） h vs. （24.12±3.18） h，t= -8.974，P=0.000]，and the first passage of defecation [（51.89±5.16） h vs. （74.81±4.76） h，t=-18.612，P=0.000]. But no significant difference was found in hospitalization[（11.67±2.12） d vs. （12.03±2.33） d，t=-0.650，P=0.518]，hospitalization expenses[（66 554.13±16 325.18） yuan vs. （65 707.26±11 765.25） yuan，t=-0.493，P=0.809] and complication rate（10/30 vs. 12/35， ?字2=0.007，P=0.936） between the two groups. Conclusion：Chewing gum enhances the recovery of bowel function after PLF surgery. Large sample，multi-center prospective study are needed to verify this conclusion.