Gum chewing and the return of bowel motility after caesarean section under regional anaesthesia

Completed

Conditions: Bowel motility
Digestive System

Registration Number: ISRCTN83008008

Lead Sponsor: Ain Shams University Hospitals (Egypt)

Brief Summary: Not available

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Completed

Sex: Female

Target Recruitment: 48

Inclusion Criteria

1. Females aged 16 - 45 years
2. Set for planned elective caesarean section under regional anaesthesia
3. Written and signed informed consent by the patient to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria

1. Operation not to be done in the morning session
2. Patients with extensive lysis of adhesions of the bowel during CS
3. Patients undergoing caesarean hysterectomy or other extensive intra-abdominal surgery as a result of operative complication
4. Patients with severe post-operative haemorrhage or other post-operative complications requiring emergency interventions

Study & Design

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
With the time of end of surgery designated as zero hour, efficacy of gum chewing will be assessed based on shortened time interval to first hearing of normal intestinal sounds, to the first passage of flatus, to the first bowel movement, and to the discharge from the hospital.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
1. Recording of post-operative tolerance of gum chewing and post-operative complications, including febrile morbidity (temperature greater than 38ºC on two occasions 6 hours apart), re-operation, blood transfusion, post-operative ileus, and hospital readmission<br>2. Occurrence of mild ileus symptoms (vomiting or abdominal distension felt by the patient and seen on examination) or post-operative paralytic ileus, defined as a group of manifestations persisting longer than 24 hours or requiring nasogastric tube placement. These manifestations include absent or hypoactive bowel sounds, non-passage of flatus or bowel movement, abdominal distension, more than three episodes of vomiting, with or without generalised crampy abdominal pain.