The Role of Pre-surgery Clinical Communication on Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Outcomes: A Prospective Study.

Background: Research shows that a positive doctor-patient relationship plays an important role in patient outcomes. However, the influence of their communication during the pre-surgery preparatory consultation (PC) for metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) remains unclear. The goal of this study was to inspect the association between patients' perceptions of doctor-patient communication (DPC) in the PC for MBS and the results of the MBS.

Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study included 89 adult patients undergoing MBS at a hospital. Before the surgery, patients' perspectives regarding DPC were assessed with the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT). One month after the surgery, participants' levels of well-being were assessed through the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36). Other clinical data were obtained through patients' electronic records. Data were analyzed with regression models.

Results: In the adjusted models, associations with the quality of doctor-patient communication (p < 0.05) were found for the following outcomes: weight loss, body mass index decrease, and patient well-being regarding bodily pain and social functioning. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were also found for digestive complaints and for patient perception of physician post-surgery support.

Conclusions: DPC in the preparatory consultation has a positive effect on the clinical results of MBS. More studies are necessary for inspection of the generalizability of these findings.