SynthesisANZ journal of surgery
The Effects of Gum Chewing in the Postoperative-Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in ANZ journal of surgery. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy and safety of postoperative chewing gum for gastrointestinal recovery in children undergoing surgery: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Surgery today · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of immunonutrition on postoperative ileus following colorectal cancer surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- The Effects of Gum Chewing in the Postoperative-Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.ANZ journal of surgeryPooled it
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation as an innovative approach for managing perioperative gastrointestinal dysfunction: a narrative review.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePostoperative ileus (POI) is a transient impairment of gastrointestinal motility occurring after surgery. Patients with POI can suffer from complications such as increased risk of nosocomial infections, overall mortality risk, and higher overall healthcare costs. This study aims to (a) evaluate the effectiveness of gum chewing on relieving POI symptoms (b) conduct meta-analysis on POI outcome variables to estimate overall effect size.
methodsWe searched MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus for English language randomized controlled trials (RCTs), evaluating the postoperative effects of gum chewing in adult surgical patients. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full texts, resolving conflicts by discussion. Study quality was assessed using the GRADE system. Meta-analysis was conducted within two surgical specialty subgroups separately.
resultsFrom 1925 citations, 714 duplicates were removed. After title/abstract screening, 128 proceeded to full text review, out of which 43 studies met the inclusion criteria. Among RCTs, 69.8% noted statistically significant improvement in at least one of the POI outcomes in the intervention cohort. Meta-analysis showed significant reductions in time to first flatus (-7.4 h; p = 0.0003) and defecation (-18.64 h; p < 0.0001) in general and colorectal surgery. Similar reductions were also observed in the OBGYN and gynecology cohort: flatus (-6.52 h; p < 0.0001) and defecation (-9.71 h; p = 0.003).
conclusionChewing gum is a safe low-cost intervention that has the potential to significantly reduce POI symptoms and hospitalization times. Meta-analysis validated the clinical relevance of the intervention. Standardized protocols are still required to delineate true effect sizes and reduce heterogeneity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.