Plasma presepsin in determining gastric leaks following bariatric surgery

Abstract

Abstract Background To be able to prevent morbid obesity in the long-term, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is one of the most effective surgical interventions. However, leakage and bleeding from the stapler line are significant complications. The aim of this study was to determine the role of the levels of plasma presepsin in the detection of stapler leakage. Materials and methods The study included 300 patients with LSG due to morbid obesity and 40 control subjects. Before any medical treatment was applied, blood samples were taken from patients at 12 h preoperatively and on days 1, 3, and 5 postoperatively. Evaluation was made of plasma presepsin levels, white blood count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), in all patients with sleeve gastrectomy line leakage. Results The WBC, CRP, NLR and presepsin values measured on days 1, 3 and 5 postoperatively were determined to be higher in patients with leakage compared to those without. The predictive value of presepsin (p = 0.001), CRP (p = 0.001) and NLR (p = 0.001) was determined to be statistically significantly higher than that of WBC (p = 0.01). Conclusion The results of the study suggest that presepsin levels could have a role in the detection and follow-up of stapler line leaks after LSG. Elevated presepsin levels, on postoperative day 1 in particular, could have a key role in the early detection of possible complications which are not seen clinically.