Reflux and Barrett's esophagus after sleeve gastrectomy: analysis of a statewide database

Eric Swei, Laura Helmkamp, Jason Samuels, Jonathan Schoen, Frank I. Scott, Sachin Wani, Shelby Sullivan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have suggested that sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is associated with the development of Barrett esophagus (BE) even in the absence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the rates of upper endoscopy and incidence of new BE diagnoses in patients undergoing SG. Setting: This was a claims-data study of patients who underwent SG between 2012 and 2017 while enrolled in a U.S. statewide database. Methods: Diagnostic claims data were used to identify pre- and postoperative rates of upper endoscopy, GERD, reflux esophagitis, and BE. Time-to-event analysis using a Kaplan-Meier approach was performed to estimate the cumulative postoperative incidence of these conditions. Results: We identified 5562 patients who underwent SG between 2012 and 2017. Of these, 1972 patients (35.5%) had at least 1 diagnostic record of upper endoscopy. The preoperative incidences of a diagnosis of GERD, esophagitis, and BE were 54.9%, 14.6%, and .9%, respectively. The predicted postoperative incidences of GERD, esophagitis, and BE, respectively, were 18%, 25.4%, and 1.6% at 2 years and 32.1%, 85.0%, and 6.4% at 5 years. Conclusions: In this large statewide database, rates of esophagogastroduodenoscopy remained low after SG, but the incidence of a new postoperative esophagitis or BE diagnosis in patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy was higher than in the general population. Patients undergoing SG may have a disproportionately high risk of developing reflux complications including BE after surgery.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1023-1029
Number of pages7
JournalSurgery for Obesity and Related Diseases
Volume19
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Barrett esophagus after sleeve gastrectomy
  • Endoscopy after bariatric surgery
  • Reflux after bariatric surgery
  • Reflux after sleeve gastrectomy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery

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