Experts issue recommendations for treatment of post-bariatric surgery patients

	Tweet

Today, The Endocrine Society released a new clinical practice guideline for the nutritional and endocrine management of adults after bariatric surgery, including those with diabetes mellitus. The guideline features a series of evidence-based clinical recommendations developed by an expert task force. The guideline is published in the November 2010 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), a publication of The Endocrine Society.

Between 1999 and 2004, obesity rates in the United States increased by 24 percent. Bariatric surgery has gained wide acceptance as a treatment for severe obesity, especially when complicated by type 2 diabetes. Common operations include laparoscopic banding procedures and gastric surgeries, which restrict the volume of food entering the stomach and intestines. Patients undergoing bariatric surgery may still experience weight regain and may also present with associated co-morbidities, including type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian disease, metabolic bone disease, fatty liver, hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea.

“Bariatric surgery is not a guarantee of success, and patients require postoperative care,” said David Heber, MD, PhD, of the University of California, and chair of the task force that developed the guideline. “To help prevent weight regain, ensure that co-morbid conditions are adequately managed and ease the transition to life after bariatric surgery, the guideline recommends that patients receive the support of a multidisciplinary team that includes an experienced primary care physician, endocrinologist or gastroenterologist.”

Other recommendations from the guideline include:

* Active nutritional patient education and clinical management to prevent and detect nutritional deficiencies for all patients undergoing bariatric surgery;
* Management of potential nutritional deficiencies for patients undergoing malabsorptive procedures as well as strategies to compensate for food intolerance in patients who have had a malabsorptive procedure to reduce the risk for clinically important nutritional deficiencies;
* Patient enrollment in a comprehensive program for nutrition and lifestyle management; and
* Future research aimed at addressing the effectiveness of intensive postoperative nutritional and endocrine care in reducing morbidity and mortality from obesity-associated chronic diseases.

The Hormone Foundation, the patient education affiliate of The Endocrine Society, has published a companion patient guide. It outlines steps patients and their health care team should take to avoid nutritional deficiencies and resulting complications, such as protein Malnutrition or bone loss, particularly after malabsorptive operations. The guide explains that, in most patients, obesity-related health problems disappear or greatly improve after surgery. It also encourages patients to have realistic expectations about what the surgery can do for them and the lifestyle changes they must make to lose weight and keep it off. The patient guide can be found online at: http://www.hormone.org/bariatric-patient-guide.

###

Other members of the task force that developed this guideline include: Frank Greenway of the Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge; Lee Kaplan of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston; Edward Livingston the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas; Javier Salvador of the University Clinic of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain; and Christopher Still of the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Penn.

Founded in 1916, The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest, largest and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. Today, The Endocrine Society’s membership consists of over 14,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in more than 100 countries. Society members represent all basic, applied and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

###

Contact: Aaron Lohr

240-482-1380
The Endocrine Society

RELATED STORIES:
What is normal weight obesity?   News source may steer perceived solution to childhood obesity   Aspirin underused by people with diabetes   Insecurity May Contribute to Obesity   Ethnicity affects impact of vitamin D on diabetes   Pain affects how well people with diabetes cope   Genes, lifestyle raise macular degeneration risk   Overweight toddlers and those not in day care at risk   Widely Used Body Fat Measurements Overestimate Fatness in Blacks   Obesity study focuses on healthy nutrition in group homes   Olympian Peszek wants to help fight obesity   Obese children experience later mortality post liver transplantation

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]