Impact of Excess Weight Gain on Risk of Postpartum Infection in Class III Obesity

The Impact of Body Mass Index on Postpartum Infectious Morbidities and Wound Complications: A Study of Extremes

OBJECTIVE

As body mass index increases, the risk of postpartum infections has been shown to increase. However, most studies lump women with a body mass index (BMI) of above 40 kg/m2 together, making risk assessment for women in higher BMI categories challenging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of extreme obesity on postpartum infectious morbidity and wound complications during the postpartum period.

STUDY DESIGN

The present study is a secondary analysis of women who underwent cesarean delivery and had BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Cesarean Registry. The primary outcome was a composite of postpartum infectious morbidity including endometritis, wound infection, inpatient wound complication prior to discharge, and readmission due to wound complications. Appropriate statistics used to compare baseline demographics, pregnancy complications, and primary outcomes among women by increasing BMI groups (40-49.9, 50-59.9, 60-69.9, and >70 kg/m2).

RESULTS

Rates of postpartum infectious morbidity increased with BMI category (11.7% BMI: 50-59.9 kg/m2; 13.7% BMI: 60-69.9 kg/m2; and 21.9% BMI >70+ kg/m2; p = 0.001). Readmission for wound complications also increased with BMI (3.1% for BMI: 50-59.9 kg/m2; 6.2% for BMI: 60-69.9 kg/m2; and 9.4% for BMI >70+ kg/m2; p = 0.001). After adjusting for confounders, increased BMI of 70+ kg/m2 category remained the most significant predictor of postpartum infectious complications compared with women with BMI of 40 to 49.9 kg/m2 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 6.38; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37-29.7). The adjusted odds of readmission also increased with BMI (aOR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.35-4.02 for BMI 50-59.9 kg/m2; aOR = 4.91, 95% CI: 2.07-11.7 for BMI of 60-69.9 kg/m2; and aOR = 36.2, 95% CI: 7.45-176 for BMI >70 kg/m2).

CONCLUSION

Women with BMI 50 to 70+ kg/m2 are at an increased risk of postpartum wound infections and complications compared with women with BMI 40 to 49.9 kg/m2. These data provide increased guidance for counseling women with an extremely elevated BMI and highlight the importance of postpartum wound prevention bundles.

KEY POINTS

· Women with super obesity have higher rates of wound complications.. · Women at extremes of obesity experience worse postpartum infectious morbidity.. · More research is needed on effective strategies to minimize morbidity in this population..

Effect of Fluid Resuscitation Strategies for Obese Patients with Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Systematic Review

Purpose

As the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (2021) recommended, patients with sepsis should be given a liquid infusion of 30 ml/kg (ideal body weight). However, the strategy may result in insufficient resuscitation for obese patients with sepsis. Therefore, we conducted a systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of the initial resuscitation strategy in obese sepsis patients.

Materials and methods

A computer search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and other databases collected cohort studies from the beginning of the survey to December 2021 to include articles evaluating initial resuscitation strategies for sepsis-obese patients.

Results

Of the six studies included, five used ideal body weight infusion strategies, and three used actual body weight infusion strategies. Differences in fluid volume were observed between the two strategies, but no significant difference was observed in the mortality of obese sepsis patients. In addition, there may be an infusion strategy other than the above two infusion methods, and the safety and efficacy of the new infusion strategy are unclear. The obesity paradox has been observed in most infusion strategies.

Conclusion

The association between obesity and infusion strategy has rarely been investigated in patients with sepsis and septic shock, and the existing results are conflicting. The risk of bias in all included studies was moderate or high. Before providing broad recommendations on the optimal first resuscitation approach to lower the chance of mortality, further clinical trials, and prospective research need to be done.

Risk for and temporal trends in cesarean surgical complications

OBJECTIVE

It is possible that in the setting of increasing patient comorbidity and obesity, risk for surgical injury and need for reoperation is increasing. It is also possible that with differential uptake of evidence-based recommendations and increasing prevalence of risk factors such as obesity, risk for surgical site complications is increasing. The objective of this study was to evaluate trends in, risk factors for, and racial disparities related to cesarean complications.

METHODS

This repeated cross-sectional study evaluated cesarean deliveries in the 2002-2014 National Inpatient Sample for women age 15-54. The primary outcome was a cesarean surgical complication composite including (i) surgical injuries, (ii) reoperation, and (iii) surgical site complications. Surgical injuries, reoperation, and surgical site complications were additionally evaluated individually as outcomes. Univariable and multivariable log linear regression models including demographic, clinical, and hospital factors were performed to assess risk for outcomes with unadjusted and adjusted risk ratios (aRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) as measures of association. Temporal trends were estimated using average annual percentage change from a joinpoint regression model. A stratified analysis was performed restricted to non-Hispanic black women. Data was weighted to provide national estimates.

RESULTS

A total of 16.2 million estimated cesarean deliveries (3.2 million unweighted cesarean deliveries) from 2002 to 2014 were included in this analysis. The prevalence of the cesarean surgical complication composite was 1.14%, surgical site complications occurred in 0.60%, surgical injuries in 0.49%, and reoperations in 0.10%. Comparing the end of the study (2012-2014) to the beginning of the study (2002-2003), adjusted risk for the composite was similar (aRR 0.93, 95% CI 0.92, 0.95). In comparison, surgical site complication risk was lower at the end of the study (aRR 0.77, 95% CI 0.75, 0.79) while risks for surgical injury (aRR 1.18, 95% CI 1.15, 1.22) and reoperation (1.18, 95% CI 1.10, 1.26) were higher. Non-Hispanic black women were at increased risk for surgical site complications (aRR 1.83, 95% CI 1.80, 1.87) and reoperation (aRR 1.44, 95% CI 1.37, 1.51), but not surgical injury (aRR 0.99, 95% CI 0.97, 1.02). In analyses stratified for non-Hispanic black women, there was a reduction in risk for surgical site complications at the end of the study period compared to the beginning similar to the primary analysis (aRR 0.76, 95% 0.72, 0.81) with a modest decrease in overall risk for the composite outcome (aRR 0.85, 95% CI 0.81, 0.89).

CONCLUSION

A decrease in risk for surgical site complications was offset by slightly increased risk for surgical injury and reoperation in adjusted analyses. Among non-Hispanic black women, surgical site complication risk decreased proportionately with this group still at significantly higher overall risk.