EPS is increasingly being used for the treatment of pituitary lesions. Obesity is a growing epidemic in our nation associated with numerous comorbidities known to impact surgical outcomes. We present a multi-institutional database study evaluating the association between BMI and postsurgical outcomes of EPS.
Patients who underwent EPS were identified from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Preoperative variables, comorbidities, and postoperative outcomes.
Seven hundred eighty-nine patients were analyzed, of which 382 were obese. No difference in reoperation rate or unplanned readmission rates was found between the obese versus nonobese group. A higher overall complication rate was observed in the obese group compared to the nonobese counterparts. However, when separated into surgical complications and medical complications, only medical complications, specifically pneumonia, remained significantly different. EPS on obese patients was also associated with prolonged operating time.
Researchers concluded that EPS might be a safe treatment option for pituitary lesions in the obese population. Although obese patients undergoing EPS are at increased risk of medical complications and prolonged operating times, this did not influence mortality, reoperation, or readmission rate.
Reference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1945892418787129
