A Randomized Controlled Trial of A Regular Diet as The First Meal Compared with Traditional Feeding in Patients Undergoing Cesarean Section

Abstract

A Randomized Controlled Trial of A Regular Diet as The First Meal Compared with Traditional Feeding in Patients Undergoing Cesarean Section

Chanvitya          Punthumapol      MD

Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taksin Hospital.

Objective: 1. To compare the ileus between the group with regular diet as the first meal and the group with traditional diet in patients undergoing cesarean section.

2. To compare the time that patients were ready to go home between the group with regular diet as the first meal and the group with traditional diet in patients undergoing cesarean section.

Study design: A prospective randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taksin hospital.

Subjects: 144 patients undergoing cesarean section between September to November 2004 were enrolled.

Intervention: The subjects were divided into 2 groups by block of four randomization. After vowel sounds had been heard, the control group starts traditional diet and the study group started regular diet. General characteristics, intraoperative data, postoperative data, ileus and the time that patients were ready to go home were collected and analyzed.

Main outcome measures: The percentage of patients with ileus and the time that patients were ready to go home.

Results: The general characteristics in both groups were similar. Intraoperative data, and postoperative data were no statistic significant difference. The ileus and the time that patients were ready to go home in both groups were not different too. However, the amount of food that patients could intake in control group was more than study group significantly ( 91.4 + 10.2 % vs 77.3 + 16.5 %, p- value = 0.01 ).

Conclusion: The patients undergoing cesarean section can start with regular diet instead of traditional diet without increasing the complications.

Vajira Med J 2005 ; 49 : 1 - 9