1. Impact of Surgical Postponements due to Covid-19 on Weight and Metabolic Parameters in Bariatric Surgery in Germany: Monocentric Experiences and Considerations in a National Context.
- Author
-
Lange UG, Uttinger KL, Medicke P, Diers J, Wiegering A, Moulla Y, Steiner S, and Dietrich A
- Subjects
- Humans, Cohort Studies, Retrospective Studies, Communicable Disease Control, Germany epidemiology, Obesity, Morbid surgery, COVID-19 epidemiology, Bariatric Surgery
- Abstract
Background: Due to Covid-19, elective medical procedures were partly postponed to reduce the burden on the medical system. The impact of these effects in bariatric surgery and their individual consequences remain unknown., Materials/methods: In a retrospective monocentric analysis, all bariatric patients at our centre between 01/2020 and 12/2021 were investigated. All patients with postponed surgery due to pandemic were analysed regarding weight change and metabolic parameters. In addition, we performed a nationwide cohort study of all bariatric patients in 2020 using billing data provided by the Federal Statistical Office. Population adjusted procedure rates of 2020 were compared to 2018/2019., Results: Seventy-four patients (42.5%) out of 174 scheduled for bariatric surgery were postponed due to pandemic-related limitations, and 47 (63.5%) patients waited longer than 3 months. Mean postponement was 147.7 days. Apart from outliers (6.8% of all patients), mean weight (+0.9 kg) and body mass index (+0.3 kg/m
2 ) remained stable. HbA1c increased significantly in patients with a postponement longer than 6 months (p = 0.024) and in diabetic patients (+0.18% vs -0.11 in non-diabetic, p = 0.042). In the Germany-wide cohort, the overall reduction of bariatric procedures in the first lockdown (04-06/2020) was -13.4% (p = 0.589). In the second lockdown (10-12/2020), there was no nationwide detectable reduction (+3.5%, p = 0.843) but inter-state differences. There was a catch-up in the interim months (+24.9%, p = 0.002)., Conclusion: For future lockdowns or other healthcare bottleneck circumstances, the impact of postponement in bariatric patients has to be addressed and prioritization of vulnerable patients (e.g. diabetics) should be considered., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF