Abstract: Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of the tooth-tapping and saliva-swallowing method on early enteral nutrition implementation after laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery. Methods: A total of 140 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer were recruited. They were randomly divided into the control group and the experimental group, with 70 cases in each group. The control group received standardized perioperative care and stepwise nutritional support therapy for gastric cancer patients, while the experimental group received the same care with the addition of the tooth-tapping and saliva-swallowing method. Postoperative evaluations included the time to first postoperative flatus and defecation, interruption rate of postoperative enteral nutrition, the compliance rate of enteral nutrition on postoperative day 2 and day 7, the compliance rate of oral energy intake and the serum pre-albumin level on postoperative day 7. Results: After the intervention, the differences between the two groups in terms of the time to first postoperative flatus and defecation, the interruption rate of postoperative enteral nutrition, the compliance rate of enteral nutrition on postoperative day 7, the compliance rate of oral energy intake and the serum pre-albumin level on postoperative day 7 were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: The tooth-tapping and saliva-swallowing method combined with stepwise enteral nutritional support can improve early gastrointestinal dysfunction in patients after gastric cancer surgery, may promote effective early enteral nutrition implementation, and assist patients in transitioning more effectively to oral nutritional supplementation.

Key words: tooth-tapping and saliva-swallowing; gastrointestinal dysfunction; early enteral nutrition