British Journal of Anaesthesia, 115 (6): 873–82 (2015) doi: 10.1093/bja/aev364 Clinical Practice
C L I N I CA L P R AC T I C E
Incidence and risk factors for intensive care unit admission after bariatric surgery: a multicentre population-based cohort study D. J. R. Morgan1, *, K. M. Ho1,3,4, J. Armstrong2 and S. Baker5 1
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, 2Department of Surgery, St John of God Hospital Subiaco, 12 Salvado Road, Subiaco, WA 6008, Australia, 3School of Population Health, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia, 4School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia, and 5Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Hospital Ave, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia *Corresponding author. E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract Background: With increasing rates of bariatric surgery and the consequential involvement of increasingly complex patients, uncertainty remains regarding the use of intensive care unit (ICU) services after bariatric surgery. Our objective was to define the incidence, indications, and outcomes of patients requiring ICU admission after bariatric surgery and assess whether unplanned ICU admission could be predicted using preoperative factors. Methods: All adult bariatric surgery patients between 2007 and 2011 in Western Australia were identified from the Department of Health Data Linkage Unit database and merged with a separate database encompassing all subsequent ICU admissions pertaining to bariatric surgery. The minimal and mean follow-up periods were 12 months and 3.4 yr, respectively. Results: Of the 12 062 patients who underwent bariatric surgery during the study period, 590 patients (4.9%; 650 ICU admissions) were admitted to an ICU after their bariatric surgery. Patients admitted to the ICU were older (48 vs 43 yr, P
