Morbid Obesity Is Associated With Worse Outcomes and Increased Inpatient Mortality in Patients With Alcohol Induced Acute Pancreatitis

Abstract Introduction: The prevalence of obesity in the United States is rising. Obesity is a known comorbidity with various health impacts. Alcohol is a common etiology for acute pancreatitis. Obesity is known to be associated with liver dysfunction. It is unclear to what extent the degree of obesity affects patients with alcohol induced acute pancreatitis (AAP), as nationally representative data are lacking. This study aimed to ascertain the impact of morbid obesity on outcomes of patients with alcohol induced pancreatitis. Methods: Data was obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database for 2016 and 2017. Hospital discharges of patients 18 years and over with a principal diagnosis of AAP were included. This cohort was divided based on presence of comorbid obesity into nonobese patients, mild-moderately obese patients (MMO) (BMI: 30.0 - 39.9) and morbidly obese patients (MO) (BMI >/=40.0). Primary outcome was inpatient mortality. Secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay (LOS), total hospital charges (THC), discharge diagnoses of hypocalcemia, sepsis, acute renal failure (AKI) and acute respiratory failure (ARF). Multivariate regression analysis was used to adjust for patients’ sociodemographic factors, Charlson comorbidity index as well as hospital characteristics as confounders. Results: A total of 143650 hospitalizations were principally for AAP, with 5.5% and 2.7% of these patients classified as having MMO and MO, respectively. In MO patients, there was increased odds of mortality (aOR=2.99, 95% CI: 1.509 - 5.917, p=0.002) when compared with patients who were nonobese. There was no difference in mortality in patients with MMO (aOR 0.88 95% CI: 0.383 - 2.026, p=0.765) when compared with the nonobese group. MO patients had increased mean LOS of 1.1 days (95% CI: 0.7 - 1.6, p<0.001) as well as THC of $14481 (95% CI: 7894 - 21068, p<0.001), increased odds of hypocalcemia (aOR=1.77, 95% CI: 1.302 - 2.392, p<0.001), sepsis (aOR=1.84, 95% CI: 1.183 - 2.873, p=0.007), AKI (aOR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.257 - 1.912, p<0.001). Conclusion: Morbid obesity has a negative impact on outcomes of patients with AAP. Efforts should be channeled towards promoting alcohol cessation in at-risk patients as a preventative measure, as well as closer monitoring of hospitalized patients with morbid obesity to mitigated these adverse events.