Investigating the Effect of Chewing Gum on Head, Neck, and Facial Edema in Burn Patients: Doubled-blinded Randomized...

Burns are a sort of trauma that may cause life-threatening consequences, including edema, which delays recovery. So, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of chewing gum on reducing edema of burns in the head, face, and neck areas after second-degree burns.

In 2024, a double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 64 second-degree burn patients, who were randomly allocated into two groups using permuted block randomization. The 32 participants in the intervention group received head elevation and chewed mint gum every 3 hours for 20 minutes until 3 days after hospitalization. However, the 32 participants in the control group only did head elevation. The Edema Size Detector was completed before and after the intervention. Statistical tests included paired t, independent t, Chi-square, and difference-in-difference regression, which were analyzed in SPSS V.16 at a significance level of less than 0.05.

The mean (SD) of burn percentages was 31.86 (2.71). Before the intervention, there were not any significant differences between the two groups for frontal, maxillary, and superior-inferior diameters (p > 0.05). However, after the intervention, these differences were significantly meaningful (p < 0.001). Additionally, assessing the group effect and time effect and adjusting the model showed that in the intervention group, frontal (T = -15.33, p < 0.001), maxillary (T = -12.88, p < 0.001), and superior-inferior diameters (T = -19.20, p < 0.001) have statistically significant variation.

Chewing gum for 20 minutes three times a day can reduce burn edema in the head, face, and neck after second-degree burns.