In a new study, researchers found that drinking coffee after a bowel surgery may help patients go home earlier.
The research was conducted by a team from Switzerland.
In the study, they evaluated the effect of coffee intake on postoperative bowel movement after elective laparoscopic colorectal resection.
This study was done between September 2014 and December 2016.
A total of 56 patients were included in a coffee group, and 59 patients were included in a tea group for comparison.
In the coffee group, the patients received 1 cup of coffee 3 times per day (150 mL at 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 5:00 PM), in addition to the regular infusion therapy and/or alimentation starting the first day postoperatively.
In the tea group, the same schedule and treatment were used, replacing coffee with tea (excluding caffeine-containing tea, like black, green, and white tea) during the entire hospital stay.
All of the patients drank the same quantity and type of coffee coming from the same type of coffee machine.
The researchers found that drinking coffee shortened the time to the first postoperative bowel movement, occurring after a median of 65.2 hours in the coffee group and after 74.1 hours in the tea group.
The finding shows that early postoperative coffee drinking after elective laparoscopic colorectal resection leads to a faster recovery of bowel function and thus potentially decreases the length of hospital stay.
Because of its easy availability and low adverse effects, coffee could be integrated with the postoperative management of patients undergoing colorectal resections.
The lead author of the study is Hasler-Gehrer, Simone M.D.
The study is published in Diseases of the Colon & Rectum.
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