Grosser R, Romero-Velez G, Pereira X, Moran-Atkin E, Choi J, Camacho DR. Postoperative pneumonia after bariatric surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic: A NSQIP study.
Surg Obes Relat Dis 2022;
18:1239-1245. [PMID:
35843783 PMCID:
PMC9212841 DOI:
10.1016/j.soard.2022.06.015]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic, surgical centers had to weigh the benefits and risks of conducting bariatric surgery. Obesity increases the risk of developing severe COVID-19 infections, and therefore, bariatric surgery is beneficial. In contrast, surgical patients who test positive for COVID-19 have higher mortality rates.
Objective
This study investigates the national prevalence of postoperative pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic in the bariatric surgery population.
Setting
The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (ACS-NSQIP) database.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study using the ACS-NSQIP database. The population of concern included patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedures. Information was extracted on rate of postoperative pneumonia and other 30-day complications between 2018 and 2020.
Results
All baseline characteristics were similar among patients who underwent bariatric surgery between 2018 and 2020. However, there was a 156% increase in postoperative pneumonia in 2020 compared with the previous year. Furthermore, despite the similar postoperative complication rates across the years, there was a statistically significant increase in all-cause mortality in 2020. The multivariate analysis showed that having surgery in 2020 was a statistically significant risk factor for pneumonia development postoperatively.
Conclusions
This study showed a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of postoperative pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic among bariatric surgery patients. Surgical centers must continuously evaluate the risks associated with healthcare-associated exposure to COVID-19 and weigh the benefits of bariatric surgery.
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