Abstract
In this chapter we discuss the pathophysiology of obesity and endocrine disorders. Obesity is a growing problem in the United States and around the world. Over one billion overweight or obese people exist in the world and thousands have surgery and require anesthesia each day. Body mass index (BMI) is used to classify patients into obesity categories and associated health risk. There are many physiologic changes associated with obesity that impact planning for anesthesia care. These include changes to the cardiovascular system, cardiac output, and blood volume which have implications for risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia and formation of deep vein thrombosis. Excessive soft tissue in the larynx and pharynx, particularly in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, should be expected which may impact airway management. Additionally, increased neck circumference and high Mallampati score may be indicators of a difficult intubation in patients with obesity. Finally, the incidence of a difficult intubation in obese patients is higher than in general population, although the BMI by itself is not a reliable predic tor.
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Ehrenfeld, J.M. (2022). Physiology and Anesthesia for General and Bariatric Surgery. In: Ehrenfeld, J.M., Urman, R.D., Segal, B.S. (eds) Anesthesia Student Survival Guide. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98675-9_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98675-9_21
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