Does timing of IVC filter placement in bariatric surgery patients impact perioperative outcomes?

Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) remains a safe and effective treatment for morbid obesity with a low-risk profile. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains the most common cause of mortality. There is increasing consensus that inferior vena cava (IVC) filter use is associated with more harm than benefit. Our study aim was to determine if the timing of IVC filter placement correlates with VTE complications.

The 2015-2019 Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program databases were used to identify Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) patients who had an IVC filter at the time of bariatric procedure. Selected cases were stratified by IVC placement timing. Propensity-score matching estimated the probabilities of receiving pre-existing vs. prophylactic IVC placement. Resultant models were then used to assess VTE complications. Statistical analyses were performed with Stata MP version 16. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.

In total, 228,986 RYGB and 568,386 SG cases were analyzed, and 0.6% and 0.5% had an IVC filter. Prophylactic IVC filter use declined annually, but not pre-existing filters. VTE and VTE-related mortality were significantly higher in filter vs. no filter cohorts (p<0.001). Propensity matching reduced biases between RYGB and SG IVC filter cohorts (pre-existing vs. prophylactic). There were no differences in the RYGB pre-existing and prophylactic IVC filter cohorts; however; for SG cases, pre-existing IVC filters compared to prophylactic IVC filters were associated with decreased odds of having a VTE (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95, 0.99).

Compared to a pre-existing filter, the presence of a prophylactic IVC filter in SG patients was associated with a higher likelihood of VTE.

1. Annual use of prophylactic IVC filter is bariatric surgery patients is decreasing. 2. The presence of a pre-existing IVC filter remain constant. 3. Any IVC filter presence at time of MBS increased VTE and VTE-related mortality and morbidity. 4. In SG cases, prophylactic IVC filter was associated with higher rates of VTE and VTE-related mortality.