PRE-ADMISSION BARIATRIC SURGERY IS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED MORTALITY IN SURGICAL PATIENTS WITH SEPSIS

Abstract

Background: Obesity is associated with higher 90-day mortality compared to nonobese surgical patients. Bariatric surgery (BS) can reduce obesity-related comorbidities, even in those with persistent obesity. Objective: Evaluate the impact of prior BS on sepsis outcomes in surgical patients with obesity. Setting: University Hospital, United States. Methods: A single-institution retrospective review of all surgical patients with sepsis (SOFA≥2) was conducted. Patients were grouped into people with obesity and prior BS (OB/BS; n = 48), people with obesity without BS (OB; n = 717), nonobese (NOB; n = 574), and nonobese with prior BS (NOB/BS; n = 27). Demographic data, comorbidities, and sepsis presentation were compared. The primary outcome was cumulative 90-day mortality and survival. Results: Most OB/BS patients underwent gastric bypass <5 years from admission (61%). The OB/BS group was younger, more likely to be female, and transferred from an outside hospital. The mean BMI was highest in the OB/BS group (46.3± 14.7 kg/m 2 , P < 0.0005). Charlson Comorbidity Index was lower in the OB/BS and NOB/BS groups (2 (1-4) and 2 (2-4), respectively, P = 0.0033). Cumulative 90-day mortality was significantly lower in the OB/BS cohort (20.8%, P = 0.002). The OB/BS cohort was more likely to die from intra-abdominal sepsis not amenable to source control (60% vs. 22.5% vs. 22.8% vs. 37.5%, P = 0.04). Compared to the other groups, 90-day survival was highest in the OB/BS cohort (log-rank P < 0.009). Conclusions: This study demonstrated improvement in 90-day survival in OB/BS patients despite higher BMIs. However, this group was more likely to die from intra-abdominal sources, likely reflecting surgical complexity in the setting of prior bypasses.

Keywords: Bariatric surgery; sepsis; sepsis outcomes.

Fig. 1.. Comparative 90-day survival for septic patients stratified by obesity status and prior bariatric history.

A, Unadjusted 90-day survival curves between obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery (blue), nonobese (NOB) patients (green), and obese patients without bariatric surgery (red), and NOB patients with prior bariatric surgery (yellow). B, Cox proportional hazards model to evaluate predictors of 90-day survival.