Seher Deniz Öztekin

Effect of gum chewing on reducing postoperative ileus and recovery after colorectal surgery: A randomised controlled trial

AIM This study aimed to determine the effect of gum chewing on the reduction of postoperative ileus and recovery after surgery. METHODS This study was conducted a randomized controlled trial in 60 patients who underwent colorectal surgery between November 2011 and December 2012. Patients in the experimental group chewed gum three times a day. The time of flatus and defecation, the time to start feeding, pain levels and time of discharge were monitored. RESULTS Post-surgery results for gum-chewing were first flatus and defecation times and the time to start feeding was shorter; pain levels were lower on the 3rd - 5th days; patients were discharged in a shorter time post-surgery. CONCLUSIONS Chewing gum is a simple intervention for reducing postoperative ileus after colorectal surgery. Further studies that examine the effectiveness of gum chewing on other surgical interventions in which the development risk of postoperative ileus should be performed.

Determination of Patient Learning Needs after Thyroidectomy

The purpose of this study was to determine discharge learning needs of patients undergoing thyroidectomy. The population of this descriptive study consisted of patients undergoing thyroidectomy in the Endocrine Surgery Unit of a university hospital between February and December 2013. The study included 251 patients who were discharged after thyroidectomy. Data obtained using the data collection form and the Patient Leaning Needs Scale (PLNS) were analyzed by frequency, mean, standard deviation, Kruskal Wallis and student-t tests. The mean age of the patients was 47.91±13.05 and 76.1% were females. The PLNS total mean score was 208.38±34.91, with the maximum score of 39.23±6.80 on the subscale of treatment and complications and the minimum score of 19.45±4.70 on the subscale of feelings related to condition. It was found that the PLNS total score of the patients was not influenced by age, gender, marital status (p>0.05). This study demonstrated that patients had high learning needs after thyroidectomy.