Abstract: Objective: To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of gum chewing to promote gastrointestinal function recovery after laparoscopic surgery. Methods: The Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) regarding gum chewing on gastrointestinal recovery after Laparoscopic surgery were collected using the following databases: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Chinese biomedical literature database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Databases and Duxiu Knowledge Search. A quantitative systemic review (Meta-analysis) was conducted by using RevMan 5.3 software after the evaluation of the risk of bias. Results: A total of 20 RCTs with a total of 1 869 patients were included. Meta-analysis revealed that early gum chewing could shorten the first anal exhaust time [MD=-8.35, 95% CI(-10.46, -6.24), P<0.001], the first defecation time [MD=-9.92, 95% CI (-12.74, -7.10), P<0.001], the first bowel sound time [MD=-4.32, 95% CI (-5.72, -2.91), P<0.001] after laparoscopic surgery. It could also reduce the incidence of postoperative abdominal distension [RR=0.29, 95% CI (0.22, 0.37), P<0.001] and shorten the days of hospital stay [MD= -0.49, 95% CI (-0.82, -0.16), P=0.004]. Conclusion: Early gum chewing can promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function after laparoscopic surgery, reduce the incidence of abdominal distension and shorten the days of hospital stay for patients. However, high-quality RCTs are still greatly needed to demonstrate the effects in the future.

Key words: laparoscopic surgery; chewing gum; gastrointestinal function; Meta-analysis