Table 1.
Participant characteristics, baseline measures and operative data
| Overall proportion receiving gum* | Chewing gum (% of patients in group) | Standard care (% of patients in group) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years)† | 199 of 402 (49·5) | 65·5(14·1) | 66·9(11·6) |
| Sex | |||
| M | 111 of 230 (48·3) | 55·8 | 58·6 |
| F | 88 of 172 (51·2) | 44·2 | 41·4 |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Caucasian | 194 of 385 (50·4) | 98·5 | 96·5 |
| Black | 0 of 5 (0) | 0 | 2·5 |
| Other | 3 of 5 (60) | 1·5 | 1·0 |
| Level of education‡ | |||
| O‐level, GCSE, school certificate or less | 127 of 254 (50·0) | 67·6 | 67·6 |
| A‐level | 24 of 48 (50) | 12·8 | 12·8 |
| Degree | 37 of 74 (50) | 19·7 | 19·7 |
| Smoking status | |||
| Current smoker | 22 of 35 (63) | 11·2 | 6·6 |
| Former smoker | 100 of 210 (47·6) | 51·0 | 56·1 |
| Never smoked | 74 of 147 (50·3) | 37·8 | 37·2 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2)† | 199 of 400 (49·8) | 27·9(5·4) | 27·2(4·8) |
| EQ‐5D‐3 L™ quality‐of‐life score† | 194 of 389 (49·9) | 0·82(0·23) | 0·84(0·19) |
| ASA fitness grade | |||
| I | 28 of 49 (57) | 15·0 | 11·1 |
| II | 117 of 244 (48·0) | 62·6 | 66·8 |
| III | 42 of 84 (50) | 22·5 | 22·1 |
| Indication for surgery | |||
| Colorectal neoplasia | 184 of 372 (49·5) | 92·5 | 92·6 |
| Diverticular disease | 7 of 16 (44) | 3·5 | 4·4 |
| Ulcerative colitis | 8 of 14 (57) | 4·0 | 3·0 |
| Type of surgery | |||
| Open | 86 of 178 (48·3) | 43·4 | 45·5 |
| Laparoscopic | 78 of 159 (49·1) | 39·4 | 40·1 |
| Laparoscopically assisted | 22 of 43 (51) | 11·1 | 10·4 |
| Laparoscopic converted to open | 12 of 20 (60) | 6·1 | 4·0 |
| Stoma formed§ | |||
| Yes | 73 of 136 (53·7) | 36·9 | 31·2 |
| No | 125 of 264 (47·3) | 63·1 | 68·8 |
| Primary procedure | |||
| Total colectomy | 12 of 20 (60) | 6·1 | 3·9 |
| Right‐sided colectomy | 56 of 117 (47·9) | 28·4 | 30·1 |
| Left‐sided colectomy | 34 of 69 (49) | 17·3 | 17·2 |
| Rectal resection | 84 of 168 (50·0) | 42·6 | 41·4 |
| Other¶ | 11 of 26 (42) | 5·6 | 7·4 |
*
Values in parentheses are percentages; the overall number of patients was 402 (199 in chewing gum group and 203 in standard care group), but totals may not add up to this as there were some missing data.
†
Values are mean(s.d.).
‡
O‐level, GCSE, school certificate: national school examinations at age 16 years; A‐level: national school examinations at age 18 years.
§
Data from day 1 after operation.
¶
Includes partial resection and small bowel resection. EQ, EuroQol; ASA, American Society of Anesthesiologists.