Aspiration Pneumonia: a Shadow in Post-Bariatric Patient : Correlation between aspiration and minigrastric bypass

The number of post-bariatric surgical procedures is increasing in time. Post-bariatric patients must be carefully evaluated preoperatively, and they must be considered a particular group of patients in plastic surgery. Aspiration is an occurrence in surgical patients that can cause transient pneumonitis but, in some cases, it can progress to severe clinical acute lung injury or in acute respiratory distress syndrome. The aim of this research is to underline a correlation between one anastomosis bypass-minigastric bypass (OAGB-MGB) and biliar or gastric aspiration.

We performed an analysis of literature and a systematic review of our post-bariatric patients who underwent body contouring procedures which required general anaesthesia from 2013 to 2018 and divided them in two groups: OAGB-MGB group and other bariatric procedures in order to compare the rate of aspiration/pneumonia occurred in time.

We collected 423 patients for 536 procedures and 9 complications. In the OAGB-MGB group, there was the highest rate of reflux/aspiration during anaesthesia induction (3.5%, 8 patients) compared with the other group (0.51%). Risk ratio of OAGB-MGB group vs other procedures is 7.054. Literature confirmed high risk of biliar reflux after OAGB-MGB procedure.

This study underlined a significant correlation between OAGB-MGB and reflux/starting general anaesthesia in post-bariatric patients. In our experience we believe that it can be useful enlarge the pre-operatory fasting period and positioning a nasogastric tube during anaesthesia induction that can be performed moreover, in anti-Trendelenburg position, in order to prevent pulmonary aspiration.