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Routine Early Fluoroscopy and Clinical Observations Following Laparoscopic Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass for Obesity Fail to Predict Subsequent Anastomotic Leakage

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Abstract

One of the most feared complications of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is anastomotic leak; early identification of which is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality. Efforts to identify patients who may suffer from such leaks have focused around routine early fluoroscopy, post-operative blood tests and clinical signs. We aimed to assess the role of these factors in our patient cohort. A retrospective cohort analysis was performed in order to assess the sensitivity, specificity and negative/positive predictive values of routine early fluoroscopy, post-operative blood tests and clinical signs in predicting anastomotic failure. 108 patients were identified for whom 107 files were available. Leaks occurred in 4 patients (3.7%), none of whom were identified on fluoroscopy. Of the clinical signs and blood tests examined, only average heart rate was significantly different in the leak ground (94.5 versus 108.5 beats per minute, p = 0.02). Nevertheless, as with other measurements, a low positive predictive value was noted. Fluoroscopy in our cohort of patients was not useful in identifying subsequent anastomotic leaks. The low positive and high negative predictive value of clinical signs and routine blood tests means that stratifying patients who may benefit from fluoroscopy is also challenging. Therefore, identifying patients who will subsequently leak remains a challenge with a high index of suspicion remaining in the main technique used to identify leaks.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

JT: study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, drafting of manuscript and approval of final version.

RR: data collection, analysis and interpretation, drafting of manuscript, approval of final version.

JW: data collection, analysis and interpretation, drafting of manuscript, critical review of manuscript and approval of final version.

AM: data collection, analysis and interpretation, drafting of manuscript, critical review of manuscript and approval of final version.

RS: study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, drafting of manuscript, critical review of manuscript and approval of final version.

All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the manuscript and the data/analysis included.

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Correspondence to James Tankel.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Requirement for informed consent was waived by the hospital ethics committee.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest and no grant support or assistance was available for this study.

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Tankel, J., Rotem, R., Wiess, J. et al. Routine Early Fluoroscopy and Clinical Observations Following Laparoscopic Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass for Obesity Fail to Predict Subsequent Anastomotic Leakage. Indian J Surg 81, 326–331 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12262-018-1802-8

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