Benefits of multidisciplinary team management of obese patients with intragastric balloon placement: an analysis of 159 cases at a single center.

Abstract

Intragastric balloon placement is an ideal weight loss method for those unfit or unwilling to undergo surgery. It is not known if multidisciplinary team management helps these patients the way it does with those who enroll in bariatric surgery programs. The primary objective was to assess the efficacy of intragastric balloon on weight loss after a 6-month follow-up and the secondary objective was to assess the impact of multidisciplinary team intervention (psychological consultation, nutritional follow-up, and regular physical activity) on weight loss in the study patients. Referral military tertiary care center, Mexico. Retrospective study of 159 patients treated with intragastric balloon between June 2011 and December 2016 in a single institution with aims of assessing its efficacy and the impact of regular exercise, supervised diet, and psychological consultation during the intervention. One hundred fifty-nine patients were enrolled. There were no drop-offs nor patients lost to follow-up. The mean initial weight was 92.6 ± 12.6 kg with a decrease to a mean of 80.7 ± 12.4 kg at 6 months with a mean reduction of 11.9 kg (P < .0001). The initial mean body mass index (BMI) of the population was 33.8 ± 2.8 kg/m2, which decreased to a mean of 29.5 ± 3.3 kg/m2 of BMI. The mean BMI units lost was 4.3 kg/m2 (P < .0001). A 50.8 ± 33.8% excess weight loss was observed (P < .0001), and a mean 12.6 ± 7.6% of total weight loss was found (P < .0001). Significant interventions on BMI at 6 months were psychological consultation associated with a mean BMI reduction of 6.0 ± 3.0 kg/m2 versus a mean BMI reduction of 4.1 ± 1.9 kg/m2 of those who did not (P < .0001) and physical activity with a mean BMI reduction of 4.8 ± 2.3 kg/m2 for those who did exercise versus a mean BMI reduction of 4.1 ± 2.0 kg/m2 for those who did not (P = .041). Intragastric balloon managed patients get additional benefit on weight loss with psychological follow-up and exercise during the intervention. Given the retrospective nature of the study, further studies are needed to definitive conclusions.