Baseline psychiatric diagnoses are associated with early readmissions and long hospital length of stay after bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND

The impact of well-controlled or historical psychiatric diagnoses in patients seeking bariatric surgery (BS) on perioperative outcomes is unclear. The primary objective of this study was to determine the impact of psychiatric diagnoses on hospital length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmission rates after BS, and post-operative weight loss outcomes.

METHODS

Patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRNYGB) from 2014 to 2016 at a single academic institution were retrospectively reviewed. Baseline demographic data and psychiatric history including depression, anxiety, and/or bipolar disorder (DAB) were obtained from the electronic medical record. Hospital LOS, 30-day readmissions, and % excess body weight loss (%EBWL) were obtained on all patients and compared between DAB patients and those without any psychiatric history.

RESULTS

During the study period, 354 patients were reviewed, of which 78% were female; 60% underwent LSG. The mean preoperative BMI was 48.9 ± 8.4 m/kg2. Major depression was the leading diagnosis (42%), and 13% had both depression and anxiety. The 30-day readmission rate was significantly higher than the control (10.5% vs. 3.7%, p = 0.02). Mean hospital LOS and the incidence of long hospital LOS (≥ 4 days) was not different between the groups, although within LSG patients, the incidence of long hospital LOS trended towards being higher for DAB patients (9.2% vs. 4%, p = 0.10). Patients with depression and anxiety had a higher incidence of long LOS (23.4% vs. 9.2%, p < 0.005). While 6-month %EBWL was significantly lower for DAB patients (41% vs. 46%, p = 0.004), 1-year weight loss outcomes were not different, even when adjusting for surgical procedure.

CONCLUSION

Patients with baseline or historical DAB had significantly higher early readmission rates, and those with multiple diagnoses were associated with a hospital LOS ≥ 4 days. Future studies should focus on elucidating the impact of psychiatric diagnoses on these quality metrics.