The efficacy of mosapride on recovery of intestinal motility after elective colorectal cancer surgery: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Purpose: Postoperative ileus is the physiologic hypomotility of the gastrointestinal tract that occurs immediately after abdominal surgery. Mosapride citrate is known to enhance gastrointestinal motility. This study aimed to evaluate mosapride’s impact on postoperative ileus and gastrointestinal motility in patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery. Methods: Forty-four patients with colorectal cancer undergoing surgery at Ramathibodi Hospital between July 2021 and August 2022 were randomly assigned to either a mosapride group or a control group. The mosapride group received 5 mg of mosapride via the enteric route with 50 mL of water 3 times daily, beginning on postoperative day 1, while the control group received 5 mg of a placebo with 50 mL of water on the same schedule. A single investigator, blinded to the treatment assignments in this triple-blind study, evaluated the postoperative time to the first bowel sound and passage of flatus. Secondary outcomes included the time to step diet, length of postoperative hospital stay, and adverse effects. Results: There were 23 patients in the control group and 21 in the mosapride group. There were no significant differences in baseline patient characteristics between the 2 groups. The mosapride group demonstrated significantly shorter times to the first bowel sound (26 hours vs. 50 hours, P=0.004) and passage of flatus (40 hours vs. 70 hours, P=0.003). Conclusion: Mosapride significantly improved the recovery of gastrointestinal motility and reduced the length of hospital stay without causing any serious adverse effects in patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04905147.