The Effect of Chronic Kidney Disease or End-stage Kidney Disease on Perioperative Outcomes and Healthcare Utilization in Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery

Background As chronic kidney disease (CKD) has a higher prevalence in patients with obesity, there is an increasing need to understand the safety of bariatric surgery for patients with advanced CKD. This study determined if short-term bariatric surgical outcomes and healthcare utilization differ in patients with advanced CKD. Methods A retrospective analysis of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was performed. Patients with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery from 2015 to 2019 were included. Patients without CKD, with CKD, and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) were compared for outcome differences. Univariate and multivariable regression was used to determine the association between perioperative outcomes to CKD status. Results The unadjusted analysis found significantly higher mortality and overall complication rate in CKD and ESKD patients, however, after adjustment for confounders, only the ICU admission rate remained significantly higher for patients CKD compared to non-CKD patients (odds ratio 4.21, 95% CI [3.29–5.39]). Length of stay was longer for patients with CKD (mean difference (MD) 0.14 days, 95% CI, [0.04, 0.23]) and patients with ESKD (MD 0.27 days, 95% CI, [0.10, 0.43]) compared to non-CKD patients. Patients with ESKD had higher admission costs compared to non-CKD patients (MD $1982.65). Conclusion Patients with CKD and ESKD have increased healthcare utilization and higher rates of ICU admission after bariatric surgery compared to non-CKD patients. Otherwise, there is no significant difference in other post-operative complications and mortality. Bariatric surgery may therefore be safely offered to this patient population in hospitals with on-site ICU capacity. Graphical Abstract