Background: Obesity is associated with increased mortality. Bariatric surgery is becoming an important treatment modality for obesity, with an associated reduction in mortality. There are few data available on the incidence and cause of death in referred patients while they are waiting for bariatric surgery.
Methods:We retrospectively examined all cases of death in patients who were referred for bariatric surgery assessment but who had not yet undergone bariatric surgery at a tertiary care centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The wait list comprised patients referred for surgery between March 2008 and May 2013. All cases of death were reviewed to determine age, sex, time of referral, time spent on the wait list, cause of death, comorbidities and body mass index (BMI).
Results:Of the 1399 patients referred, 22 (1.57%) died before receiving surgery. The mean age of these patients was 62.7 (range of 32-70) years. The average time from referral to death was 21.6 months, and the average BMI was 51.5. The most frequent cause of death was cancer, followed by cardiac and infectious causes.
Conclusion:This study provides useful information about mortality and causes of death among patients awaiting bariatric surgery at our centre. Our results will help guide the development of a judicious system for triage in light of long wait times.Contexte : L'obésité est associée à une mortalité accrue. La chirurgie bariatrique devient une modalité thérapeutique importante pour traiter l'obésité et elle est associée à une réduction de la mortalité. On dispose de peu de données sur l'incidence et la cause du décès chez les patients référés qui sont en attente d'une chirurgie bariatrique.Méthodes : Nous avons examiné rétrospectivement tous les cas de patients référés qui sont décédés en attente d'une chirurgie bariatrique dans un centre de soins tertiaires de Halifax (Nouvelle-Écosse). La liste d'attente comprenait des patients référés pour chirurgie entre mars 2008 et mai 2013. Nous avons passé en revue tous les décès pour déterminer l'âge, le sexe, la date de la référence, le temps passé sur la liste d'attente, la cause du décès, les comorbidités et l'indice de masse corporelle (IMC).
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