BS O02 Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency after Bariatric Metabolic Surgery: Results from a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background Disruptive gastrointestinal symptoms and malnutrition are common following bariatric metabolic surgery (BMS), and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) is a sparsely considered cause of such. Untreated PEI results in substantial patient harm and should be managed with pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). The incidence of PEI, its diagnosis and management, is unclear after BMS. The aim of this review was to assimilate the literature on incidence, diagnosis, and management of PEI in patients following BMS. Methods A systematic review of PUBMED and Embase databases identified studies investigating PEI following BMS. A pooled analysis was performed to determine prevalence of PEI in each cohort, and benefit of PERT. Meta-analyses were performed using the software package Revman 5.4, in accordance with the recommendation of the Cochrane Collaboration. Results 12 studies were included in the quantitative synthesis of PEI rate after BMS. The rate of PEI after any BMS was 23.0% (95% CI:14.6% - 32.6%) amongst 1157 patients, and most common after biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (44.0% (95%CI: 9.2-82.1%)). The most common diagnostic test used was faecal-elastase-1 (FE-1) (10/12 studies) reporting <200 µg/g as diagnostic of PEI. Five studies considered management of PEI with 81.7% (95% CI: 73.8% - 88.6%) of patient’s responding positively to PERT when prescribed. One study specifically reported improved Vitamin D, quality of life and FE-1 following PERT, with no effect on weight loss. Conclusions PEI is common following BMS, particularly following bypass procedures, and may be a substantial contributor to post-operative malnutrition in these patients. With over 4/5th patients experiencing symptomatic benefit of PERT, and evidence suggesting it does not prohibit weight loss, future research must further illuminate the role of PERT in the post-operative story of BMS patients.