A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether patients who have chewed gum are at increased risk of aspiration during sedation. Twenty-nine papers were found, of which six presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that patients who have chewed gum in the past 6 h may theoretically be at increased risk of aspiration. This should be considered when making a balanced decision about the use of procedural sedation.
Keywords: emergency care systems.
Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.