Conclusion
In addition to the strategies commonly applied in clinical practice, it
is interesting to study and develop new pharmacological approaches that
target the intimate mechanisms of intestinal damage observed during POI,
such as inflammation and alteration of intestinal permeability. The
combined identification and study of new pharmacological agents will
improve our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that
govern postoperative ileus. The work must be continued and on-going
progress is essential. Indeed, abdominal surgery has made progress to
date with minimally invasive surgery and early rehabilitation protocols.
However, recent progress in oncology now allows the tumour or tumour
recurrence to be managed at advanced stages through often extensive
surgery (Denost et al., 2020). These increasingly frequent treatments,
such as cytoreductive surgery for peritoneal carcinomatosis or pelvic
recurrence, for example, are a source of POI. New research avenues are
essential to promote our understanding of this phenomenon and to develop
new pharmacological treatments.