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Summary: Background: Up to 50% of adolescents who undergo metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) have obesity 3 years post‐MBS, placing them at continued risk for the consequences of obesity. Objectives: We conducted an open‐label, 16‐week pilot study of liraglutide in adolescents with obesity after sleeve gastrectomy (SG) to investigate liraglutide effects on weight and body mass index (BMI) post‐SG. Methods: Adolescents aged 12–20.99 years with obesity and a history of SG ≥1 year prior were enrolled. Liraglutide was initiated at 0.6 mg/day, escalated weekly to a maximum of 3 mg/day, with treatment duration 16 weeks. Fasting laboratory assessments and an oral glucose tolerance test were performed at baseline and end‐treatment. Results: A total of 43 participants were screened, 34 initiated liraglutide (baseline BMI 41.2 ± 7.7 kg/m2), and 31 (91%) attended the end‐treatment visit. BMI decreased by 4.3% (p < 0.001) with liraglutide. Adolescents who had poor initial response to SG (<20% BMI reduction at BMI nadir) had less weight loss with liraglutide. Fasting glucose and haemoglobin A1C concentrations significantly decreased. There were no serious treatment‐emergent adverse events reported. Conclusions: Liraglutide treatment was feasible and associated with a BMI reduction of 4.3% in adolescents who had previously undergone SG, quantitatively similar to results obtained in adolescents with obesity who have not undergone MBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Obesity is a risk factor for paediatric asthma. Obesity‐mediated systemic inflammation correlates with metabolic dysregulation; both are associated with asthma burden. However, adipose tissue inflammation is not defined in obesity‐related asthma. Objective: Define adipose tissue inflammation and its association with metabolic measures in paediatric obesity‐related asthma. Methods: Cellular profile of stromal vascular fraction from visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from youth with obesity‐related asthma (n = 14) and obesity without asthma (n = 23) was analyzed using flow cytometry and correlated with metabolic measures. Results: Compared to youth without asthma, VAT from youth with obesity‐related asthma was enriched for leukocytes and macrophages, including M1 and dual M1M2 cells, but did not differ for CD4+ lymphocytes, and endothelial cells, their progenitors, and preadipocytes. M1 macrophage counts positively correlated with glucose, while M1M2 cells, CD4+ lymphocytes, and their subsets negatively correlated with high‐density lipoprotein, in youth with obesity without asthma, but not among those with obesity‐related asthma. Conclusions: Enrichment of macrophage‐mediated inflammation in VAT from youth with obesity‐related asthma supports its role in systemic inflammation linked with asthma morbidity. Lack of correlation of VAT cells with metabolic dysregulation in youth with obesity‐related asthma identifies a need to define distinguishing factors associated with VAT inflammation in obesity‐related asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently released clinical guidelines for the treatment of childhood obesity, including surgery being appropriate for children 13 years of age and older. The use of this age cut‐off was due to a lack of data for children younger than 13. To address this knowledge gap, the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) database was queried to compare outcomes in preteens to teens after bariatric surgery hypothesizing that there would be no difference in outcomes between the two groups. Methods: Patients from the MSAQIP database (2016–2021) were identified and divided into groups <13 years and 13–18 years and were matched using propensity scores based on race, sex, and preoperative BMI. Outcomes were compared including change in BMI, complication rates, 30‐day readmission or reoperation, and mortality. Additionally, the centers responsible for the bulk of the preteen patient entries queried their center‐specific databases to evaluate weight loss over time. Results: A total of 4755 patients were identified, 47 of whom were <13 years of age. Preteens had similar sex distribution (66% vs. 75% female), were more likely to be Black (27.7% vs. 18.3%) or Hispanic (21.3% vs. 7.6%) race, and weighed less (274 ± 58 vs. 293 ± 85 lb, p = 0.01), but they had similar BMI (46.9 ± 7 vs. 47 ± 13 kg/m2) as their teen counterparts. Preteens were more likely to suffer from sleep apnea (34% vs. 19%, p < 0.01) and insulin‐dependent type 2 diabetes (10.6% vs. 1.8%, p < 0.01). There were no complications in the preteens compared to teens (0% vs. 0.5%), and they did not undergo any unplanned readmissions (0% vs. 2.9%) or reoperations (0% vs. 0.8%) within 30 days of surgery. There were also no mortalities reported in preteens (0% vs. 0.1%). The risk‐adjusted decrease in BMI between preteens and teens was also comparable at 30 days (4.2 [95% CI: 3.0–5.4] vs. 4.6 [95% CI: 4.4–4.7], p = 0.6). Decrease in BMI in preteens was 7 ± 3 kg/m2 at 3 months and 9 ± 4 kg/m2 at 12 months after surgery, which represented a percentage BMI change of 16 ± 7 and 20 ± 8, respectively. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that bariatric surgery in preteens is safe and efficacious when performed at specialized centers, and that age criteria may not be required. The AAP and others are encouraged to include age cut‐offs in their guidelines for children with obesity and bariatric surgery only when data are available to support their inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]