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Prospective clinical cohort study: low incidence of Barrett esophagus but high rate of reflux disease at 5-year follow-up after sleeve gastrectomy versus Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

B. Wölnerhanssen, A. C. Meyer-Gerspach, R. Nussbaumer, Matthias Sauter, M. Thumshirn, M. Bueter, D. Vetter, C. Gubler et al.

Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 2023

169 participants · 16 citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Gastroesophageal reflux disease seems more frequent after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) than Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB). Retrospective case series have raised concerns about a high incidence of Barrett esophagus (BE) after LSG.

OBJECTIVE

This prospective clinical cohort study compared the incidence of BE ≥5 years after LSG and LRYGB.

SETTING

St. Clara Hospital, Basel, and University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland.

METHODS

Patients were recruited from 2 bariatric centers where preoperative gastroscopy is standard practice and LRYGB is preferred for patients with preexisting gastroesophageal reflux disease. At follow-up ≥5 years after surgery, patients underwent gastroscopy with quadrantic biopsies from the squamocolumnar junction and metaplastic segment. Symptoms were assessed using validated questionnaires. Wireless pH measurement assessed esophageal acid exposure.

RESULTS

A total of 169 patients were included, with a median 7.0 ± 1.5 years after surgery. In the LSG group (n = 83), 3 patients had endoscopically and histologically confirmed de novo BE; in the LRYGB group (n = 86), there were 2 patients with BE, 1 de novo and 1 preexisting (de novo BE, 3.6% versus 1.2%; P = .362). At follow-up, reflux symptoms were reported more frequently by the LSG group than by the LRYGB group (51.9% versus 10.5%). Similarly, moderate-to-severe reflux esophagitis (Los Angeles grade B-D) was more common (27.7% versus 5.8%) despite greater use of proton pump inhibitors…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a case series, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health. Reported size: 169 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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