Guideline compliance in bariatric surgery: a French nationwide study.

Background: Strict adherence to guidelines with a comprehensive preoperative assessment and rigorous follow-up are essential to improve postoperative and long-term outcomes of bariatric surgery (BS).

Objectives: To investigate the trends in BS in France and to assess the compliance to guidelines in people with obesity before and after BS.

Setting: University Hospital of Bordeaux, France.

Methods: Data on patients who were admitted for a primary BS procedure in France between January 1 and April 1, 2014, were extracted from the French national health insurance system database. Data on patients' characteristics, preoperative assessment, hospitalization, and postoperative follow-up, including medical consultations, laboratory tests, and drug consumption, during the year preceding and the 2 years after BS were collected.

Results: Most of the 11,824 patients (60.4%) had sleeve gastrectomy. Rates of reimbursement for preoperative consultations with general practitioners, digestive surgeons, and endocrinologists or internists were 94.5%, 89.2%, and 63%, respectively. Laboratory tests for nutritional and obesity-related co-morbidity evaluations were performed in 94.3% and 91.4%, respectively. Rates of consultation with general practitioners, digestive surgeons, and endocrinologists or internists dropped from 93.1%, 91.2%, and 29.2%, respectively, the first year to 88.4%, 50.3%, and 20%, respectively, the second year after BS (P < .001). Reimbursements for vitamin, iron, and calcium supplementation dropped from 66.6%, 24.9%, and 21%, respectively, the first year to 52.1%, 19.3%, and 11.7%, respectively, the second year after BS (P < .001).

Conclusion: Overall compliance with guidelines is improving. While preoperative medical assessment is nearly optimal, efforts still should be made in order to improve long-term follow-up in general and patient adherence to micronutrient supplementation in particular.