Unique patterns of healthcare utilization following the opening of the Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital.

Our aim was to examine the influence of the market entry of Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital on community and hospital-based healthcare utilization (HCU). A retrospective study was conducted among Maccabi Health Services enrollees in the regions of Ashdod (n = 94,575) and Netanya (control group, n = 80,200) before and after this market entry. Based on difference-in-differences framework, we examined the change in HCU of Ashdod region's enrollees compared to the control group and following the market entry using multivariable generalized estimating equations models. Our results revealed that, as hypothesized, after the market entry and compared to the control group, there was a 4% increase in specialists visits not requiring referral (RR = 1.04, 95% CI 1.03-1.06, p < 0.001), a 4% increase in MRI and CT scans (RR = 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.08, p = 0.022), and a 33% increase in emergency room visits (RR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.29-1.38, p < 0.001). Unexpectedly, no changes were observed in the number of hospital admissions (RR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.97-1.14, p = 0.250), and hospitalization days (RR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.94-1.04, p = 0.668). Moreover, and unexpectedly, there was a 1% decrease in primary care physician visits (RR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-1.00, p = 0.002), a 11% decrease in specialists visits requiring a referral (RR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.86-0.91, p < 0.001), and a 42% decrease in elective surgeries (RR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.55-0.60, p < 0.001). We conclude that this market entry was not translated to an increase in utilization of all services. The unique model of maintaining the continuity of care that was adopted by the hospital and patients' loyalty may led to the unique inter-relationship between the hospital and community care.

Patient-centeredness-a cultural targeted survey among junior medical managers.

BACKGROUND: Patient-centeredness is a core element in healthcare. However, there is a gap between the understanding of this term by healthcare professionals, and patients' capability, self-efficacy, and willingness to take part in medical decisions. We aim to expose standpoints toward "patient centeredness" among junior medical managers (JMM), as they bridge between policy strategies and patients. We try to reveal cultural differences by comparing the views of the majority and the minority subpopulations of Israel (Arabic and Hebrew speakers). METHODS: A cross-sectional survey among JMM studying for an advanced degree in health-system management at three academic training colleges in Israel was conducted in February-March 2022. The respondents completed a structured questionnaire comprising four sections: a) perceptions of trust, accountability, insurance coverage, and economic status; b) perceptions regarding decision-making mechanisms; c) preferences toward achieving equity, and d) demographic details. RESULTS: A total of 192 respondents were included in the study-50% Hebrew speakers and 50% Arabic speakers. No differences were found between Arabic and Hebrew speakers regarding perception of trust, accountability, insurance coverage, and economic status. JMM from both subpopulations believed that patients' gender and age do not influence physicians' attitudes but Arabic-speaking respondents perceived that healthcare professionals prefer educated patients or those with supportive families. All respondents believed that patients would like to be more involved in medical decisions; yet Arabic-speakers perceived patients as tending to rely on physicians' recommendations while Hebrew speakers believed that patients wish to lead the medical decision by themselves. CONCLUSIONS: Patient-centeredness strategy needs to be implemented bottom-up as well as top-down, in a transparent nationwide manner. JMM are key actors in carrying out this strategy because they realize policy guidelines in the context of social disparities, enabling them to achieve a friendly personalized dialogue with their patients. We believe that empowering these JMM may create a ripple effect, yielding a bottom-up perception of equity and initiating change.

The role of models as a decision-making support tool rather than a guiding light in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reference scenarios based on mathematical models are used by public health experts to study infectious diseases. To gain insight into modeling assumptions, we analyzed the three major models that served as the basis for policy making in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic and compared them to independently collected data. The number of confirmed patients, the number of patients in critical condition and the number of COVID-19 deaths predicted by the models were compared to actual data collected and published in the Israeli Ministry of Health's dashboard. Our analysis showed that the models succeeded in predicting the number of COVID-19 cases but failed to deliver an appropriate prediction of the number of critically ill and deceased persons. Inherent uncertainty and a multiplicity of assumptions that were not based on reliable information have led to significant variability among models, and between the models and real-world data. Although models improve policy leaders' ability to act rationally despite great uncertainty, there is an inherent difficulty in relying on mathematical models as reliable tools for predicting and formulating a strategy for dealing with the spread of an unknown disease.

[INFORMED CONSENT FOR SURGERY: WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON THERE?]

INTRODUCTION: The process of "informed consent" is currently being evaluated by the Ministry of Health, with the intent to recommend steps to improve patients' and doctors' satisfaction. Following the committee meetings, we decided to initiate an evaluation of the patient's perceptions regarding technical and logistic aspects of the process. AIMS: To learn about patients' perceptions on the informed consent process, by evaluating different aspects and variables. METHODS: One hundred patients who underwent an "informed consent" process, followed by general surgery, were interviewed using a formulated call-script. All the patients had surgery at Ramat Hayal Hospital during January 2020. RESULTS: All the interviewed patients reported that their surgeon was the one who participated in the informed consent process. The majority of the patients (70%) reported that the meeting lasted between 10-20 minutes. Only 35% of the patients reported that the surgeon used auxiliary materials during the meeting. Almost all patients (96-99%) noted that the explanations delineated by the surgeon during their meeting were clear, satisfactory, and congruent with their real experiences of their surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this study, we confirm that the informed consent process for patients having surgery at the Ramat Hayal Hospital, is adequate and follows the recommendations of the law. Analyzing our data by the funding agent did not disclose meaningful differences except regarding the use of auxiliary materials. This issue will be examined in a future study. DISCUSSION: These study results show a high compliance with the informed consent process in accordance with the law and MOH regulations.

[THE FUTURE OF HOSPITALS IN ISRAEL - PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS AND THE STANDPOINTS OF MANAGERS].

INTRODUCTION: Planning the future national hospitalization system requires consideration of demographic trends, innovative treatments and policy approaches. The existing situation alone does not allow proper planning in extremely dynamic systems that operate within the framework of scarce resources. OBJECTIVES: To identify managers' attitudes regarding hospital planning, deployment and managerial mechanisms in comparison with evidence in the literature. METHODS: A survey among hospital managers following a focused conference. RESULTS: Of the 50 respondents, half of the group thought that a general hospital should include 900-2000 beds. The majority prefer an autonomous management style, or a cluster of only a few hospitals. In a scenario of overload and shortage of beds, the majority prefer adding beds to the existing hospital, while about a quarter of the respondents suggest establishing another hospital in the area, or merging nearby hospitals. About half supported home care, or transferring patients to a nearby hospital, including in the private sector, or the transfer of appropriate patients to chronic care institutions. About a third of the respondents supported telemedicine. In terms of national deployment, the preference was that the hospital should be located in high population areas and able to provide sufficient geographical accessibility. Yet, 60% of participants emphasized the importance of social determinants to low socio-economic populations. CONCLUSIONS: The survey revealed original standpoints and ideas towards willingness to promote targeted solutions. Healthcare leaders should consider and adapt local ideas to achieve effective planning following the insights of those working in the field. DISCUSSION: Targeted conferences aimed at discussing health policy are an effective platform for presenting complex issues and for sharing ideas with colleagues for the benefit of meaningful long-term processes.

Patient preferences and choices as a reflection of trust-A cluster analysis comparing postsurgical perceptions in a private and a public hospital.

BACKGROUND: Active participation of patients in managing their medical treatment is a major component of the patient empowerment process and may contribute to better clinical outcomes. Patient perceptions and preferences affect the patient-physician encounter in a variety of dimensions, such as patient autonomy, freedom of choice and trust in the healthcare system. The Israeli healthcare system is mostly publicly funded, with additional private healthcare services for surgery and other medical treatments. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions and preferences of patients in the public and private hospitals in Israel. METHODS: A cross-sectional study among 545 individuals who had surgical procedures at two hospitals in Israel (one public and one private). A structured questionnaire comprising 23 items was used to collect perceptions via personal telephone interviews. The responses were categorized into five clusters and compared by type of health services provider (public vs. private) and sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age and education level). RESULTS: A hierarchical cluster analysis methodology identified five conceptual groups: trust, concern towards medical errors, dialogue between medical staff and the patient/patient's family, confidentiality and staff bias towards more informed patients, or those with supportive families. Four main themes that highlight patients' preferences were found: physical conditions, personal empowerment and perceived autonomy, patient experience and patient-provider encounter communication. Significant differences between the private and the public healthcare systems were found in four clusters: trust and patient care, patient's concerns, the extent of explanation and medical staff's commitment. Differences secondary to sociodemographic parameters were noticed: patients treated at the private hospital scored significantly higher items of trust, medical staff caring and the importance of choosing their treating surgeon, while patients treated at the public hospital scored higher staff commitment to the patient than those treated at the private hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed the perceptions underlying the decisions of patients to undergo surgical procedures in public or private hospitals. Mutual learning could pave the way to better patient-physician encounters. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients from the two hospitals were involved in this study by responding to the questionnaire. The data presented is based on the patient's responses.

Less Is More (Healthy): Overuse of Healthcare Services.

BACKGROUND: Overuse of healthcare services is a common phenomenon defined as: "a healthcare service that is provided under circumstances in which its potential for harm exceeds the possible benefit." It is expressed in the gap between desired services and available ones and is accompanied by high financial and human life costs. One-fifth to one-third of patients receives unnecessary, ineffective, or potentially harmful treatments or services. One of the greatest challenges to understanding overuse is the lack of definition for appropriate use. Apart from the physical and mental damage caused by overuse or improper use of medical services, this phenomenon has many implications, such as increasing waiting times for services, creating long queues, and incurring considerable financial costs as over 10% of hospital expenses are used to correct medical errors or preventable infections. Government intervention through economic arrangements such as deductibles and pre-authorization of services by the insurer are partially effective in reducing the overuse of health services. Additional solutions include ensuring safety and quality of care as well as shared decision-making.

Addressing the important error of missing surgical items in an operated patient.

BACKGROUND: We aim to analyze the characteristics of incidences of missing surgical items (MSIs) and to examine the changes in MSI events following the implementation of an MSI prevention program. METHODS: All surgical cases registered in our medical center from January 2014 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Among 559,910 operations, 154 MSI cases were reported. Mean patient age was 48.67 years (standard deviation, 20.88), and 56.6% were female. The rate of MSIs was 0.259/1000 cases. Seventy-seven MSI cases (53.10%) had no consequences, 47 (32.41%) had mild consequences, and 21 (14.48%) had severe consequences. These last 21 cases represented a rate of 0.037/1000 cases. MSI events were more frequent in cardiac surgery (1.82/1000 operations). Textile elements were the most commonly retained materials (28.97% of cases). In total, 15.86% of the cases were not properly reported. The risk factors associated with MSIs included body mass index (BMI) above 35 kg/m2 and prolonged operative time. After the implementation of the institutional prevention system in January 2017, there was a gradual decrease in the occurrence of severe events despite an increase in the number of MSIs. CONCLUSION: Despite the increase in the rate of MSIs, an implemented transparency and reporting system helped reduce the cases with serious consequences. To further prevent the occurrence of losing surgical elements in a surgery, we recommend educating OR staff members about responsibility and obligation to report all incidents that are caused during an operation, to develop an event reporting system as well as "rituals" within the OR setting to increase the team's awareness to MSIs. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04293536). Date of registration: 08.01.2021. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04293536 .

Laparoscopic Total Extraperitoneal Repair and Open Prolene Hernia System for Inguinal Hernia Repair Have Similar Outcomes: A Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of Laparoscopic total extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair (LTEPR) and the open prolene hernia system repair (OPHSR), in terms of complications, postoperative pain and quality of life. Background: Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most frequent surgeries made by general surgeons. Although, with the technological development and scientific advances even today it is not possible to define which is the gold standard procedure to hernia repair. Material and Methods: For this observational study, all 577 consecutive patients who underwent hernia repair were included in the study, 293 LTEPR, and 284 OPHSR. The average age for OPHSR was 62.49 years and for LTEPR 55.35 years. The average follow-up of 38.10 months, the mean operative time for OPHSR was 55.58 minutes and for LTEPR was 45.46 minutes, with a hospital stay of 1.1 and 1.08 respectively. Results: Each type of hernia was classified according to Gilbert/Rutcow-Robbins criteria, resulting in the OPHSR, 80.28 % were assigned to class 1 to 3 and only 19.72% in class 4 to 7. In the LTEPR, 52.22% of the patients are classified in degree 1 to 3 and 47.78% were class 4 to 7. In the LTEPR group there was more complications with 9 cases of bleeding controlled at the same time, one tear of the bladder, no other visceral complications; in the OPHSR group, there were fewer complications with significant differences (p= .014). The postoperative complications, principally hematoma, and seroma were the most common complication without statistic differences. The postoperative pain was in the OPHSR group, 77.46% of patients reported suffering from mild or pain-free pain, 21.47% reported moderate pain, and 1.05% reported severe pain, in the LTEPR group 74.4% of patients reported mild pain, 25.25% reported moderate pain and only one patient reported severe pain, without significant differences. In both groups, the patients reported a high index of satisfaction, and in the LTEPR group scare results were better than OPHSR (p .001). CONCLUSION: The outcomes of LTEPR are similar to OPHSR. However, LTEPR has shorter operative time, more intraoperative complications and better scar satisfaction.

Analyzing patient trust through the lens of hospitals managers-The other side of the coin.

Trust is an essential element in patient-physician relationships, yet trust is perceived differently among providers and customers exist. During January-February 2020 we examined the standpoints of medical managers and administrative directors from the private and public health hospitals on patient-physician trust, using a structured questionnaire. Thirty-six managers in public and private hospitals (24 from the public sector and 12 from the private sector) responded to the survey. Managers in the private sector rated trust higher in comparison to managers in the public sector, including trust related to patient satisfaction, professionalism and accountability. Managers from public hospitals gave higher scores to the need for patient education and shared responsibility prior to medical procedures. Administrative directors gave higher scores to various dimensions of trust and autonomy while medical managers gave higher scores to economic considerations. Trust is a fundamental component of the healthcare system and may be used to improve the provision and quality of care by analyzing standpoints and comparable continuous monitoring. Differences in position, education and training influence the perception of trust among managers in the health system. This survey may allow policy makers and opinion leaders to continue building and maintaining trust between patients and care providers.

Changes in the activity levels and financing sources of Israel's private for-profit hospitals in the wake of reforms to the public-private divide.

BACKGROUND: The Israeli National Health Insurance Law provides permanent residents with a basket of healthcare services through non-profit public health insurance plans, independently of the individual's ability to pay. Since 2015, several reforms and programs have been initiated that were aimed at reinforcing public healthcare and redressing negative aspects of the health system, and specifically the constant rise in private health expenditure. These include the "From Reimbursement-to-Networks Arrangement", the "Cooling-off Period" program and the program to shorten waiting times. The objectives of this study were to identify, describe, and analyze changes in private hospitals in 1) the volume of publicly and privately funded elective surgical procedures; and 2) private health expenditure on surgical procedures. METHODS: Data on the volume and funding of surgical procedures during 2013-2018 were obtained from Assuta Medical Center, Hertzelia Medical Center, the Israeli Ministry of Health and the Central Bureau of Statistics. The changes in the volume and financing sources of surgical activities in private hospitals, in the wake of the reforms were analyzed using aggregate descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Between 2013 and 2018 the volume of surgical activities in private for-profit hospitals increased by 7%. Between 2013 and 2017, the distribution of financing sources of surgical procedures in private hospitals remained stable, with most surgical procedures (75-77%) financed by the voluntary health insurance programs of the health plans (HP-VHI). In 2018, following the regulatory reforms, a significant change in the distribution of financing sources was observed: there was a sharp decline in the volume of HP-VHI-funded surgical procedures to 26%. Concurrently, the share of publicly-funded surgical procedures performed in private hospitals increased to 56% in 2018.,. During the study period, private spending on elective surgical procedures in private hospitals declined by 53% while public funding for them increased by 51%. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS: In the wake of the reforms, there was a substantial shift from private to public financing of elective surgical activity in private hospitals. Private for-profit hospitals have become important providers of publicly-funded procedures. It is likely that the reforms affected the public-private mix in the financing of elective surgical procedures in those hospitals, but due to the absence of a control group, causality cannot be proven. It is also unclear whether waiting times were shortened. Health reforms must be accompanied by a clear and comprehensive set of indicators for measuring their success.

Chronic opipramol treatment extinguishes cocaine craving through Rac1 in responders: A rat model study.

Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1), of the Rho small GTPase family, is a key regulator of actin cytoskeleton rearrangement and plays an important role in dendritic morphogenesis. Cocaine produces neuronal alterations, including structural changes in dendritic number and morphology. Emerging data indicate sigma-1 receptors (σ-1Rs) as a promising candidate for the prevention of cocaine craving. Opipramol is a σ-1R agonist approved in some European countries for depression and anxiety. Here we report that opipramol, mediated by Rac1, attenuates cocaine-seeking behavior in a rat model of self-administration. The opipramol effect was shown in two phases. It decreased cocaine-seeking behavior throughout the withdrawal phase and, interestingly, showed a significant reduction of cocaine-primed reinstatement in 75% of the opipramol-treated group (termed 'responders'). All opipramol-treated rats showed a decrease in σ-1R mRNA expression levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) versus controls. Responders also exhibited significantly decreased NAc Rac1 mRNA expression levels, compared with non-responder rats. Hence, Rac1 differentiated responders from non-responders. Rac1 correlated positively with σ-1R mRNA levels in opipramol responders. In another experiment, Rac1 inhibitor injected directly into the NAc core decreased active lever presses on the first day of extinction, indicating the critical role of Rac1 in the opipramol effect on drug seeking. We postulate that chronic activation of σ-1R, through a dynamic interaction with Rac1, may suggest a new approach to treat substance use disorder (SUD). Rac1 inhibition is a prerequisite for decreasing drug seeking and rehabilitation, and this can be achieved by opipramol, a medication that can be given during detoxification.

Novel Opipramol-Baclofen Combination Alleviates Depression and Craving and Facilitates Recovery From Substance Use Disorder-An Animal Model and a Human Study.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are associated with depression and anxiety, with the latter being one of the major factors in substance-seeking and relapse. Due to dose-dependent sedative side effects there is limited efficacy of baclofen treatment for SUDs. Here we suggest the use of a novel combination of opipramol and baclofen (O/B) which is known to attenuate anxiety and depression, for the facilitation of recovery from SUDs. Since both opipramol and baclofen have a common downstream signal transduction, their individual doses could be reduced while still maintaining the benefits of the combination. We tested the O/B combination in both animals and patients. Rats treated with O/B showed significant attenuation in craving behavior and in relapse rate during withdrawal from cocaine. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study, conducted in a residential detoxification center, 14 males and 3 females, aged 28-60 years were assigned to a study (n = 6) and a placebo (n = 11) group (placebo group: 40 ± 10.5 years; O/B group 40 ± 10.8 years). The participants completed scales measuring depression, anxiety and craving symptoms and provided saliva samples for stress hormone examination [cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S)]. Participants with polysubstance use disorder (PsUD) treated with O/B showed a reduction in cravings and depression and an increase in DHEA-S and in the DHEA-S/cortisol ratio. Our findings indicate a beneficial effect of O/B treatment. This study suggests a novel candidate for pharmacological treatment of patients with SUD and comorbid mood/anxiety disorders that may facilitate their rehabilitation.

Assessing Bleeding Risk in Bariatric Surgeries: A Retrospective Analysis Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors that influence bleeding during the course of bariatric surgeries. BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is safe with a low percentage of complications compared with other abdominal surgeries. Bleeding is one of the most common complications in surgery for obesity that has the risk of being catastrophic. METHODS: The study includes 8,544 cases that underwent bariatric surgery from January 2013 to March 2016 retrospectively, in 4 private institutions. Multiple demographic data were collected: patient characteristics, diseases, medications, surgery type, operative technique, devices, surgeon's skill, and volume. RESULTS: Bleeding was the most frequent complication that occurred in 122 (1.3%) patients. The Gastric bypass had the highest rate of bleeding (3.05%) of which, 20% were intraoperative bleeding and 80% postoperatively (intra-abdominal in 75%, and intra-luminal in 5%). Simultaneous surgeries, revisional surgeries, stratification of body mass index, stapler line reinforcement, and hospital volume did not affect bleeding occurrence. The determining factors for bleeding were hypertension, chronic lung disease, age >45 years, arrhythmia, and surgeon's skills. CONCLUSION: Bleeding after bariatric surgery has a low occurrence. The factors that influence the occurrence of perioperative bleeding in bariatric surgery are: hypertension, chronic lung disease, age >45 years, arrhythmia, and surgeon's skills.

Analysis of the Association between Eating Behaviors and Weight Loss after Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

SETTING: In a private medical center, 300 patients who underwent a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) were classified into 4 groups according to their eating behaviors (EB) preoperatively. During a 3-year postoperative follow-up, dietary changes in relation to weight loss were studied. OBJECTIVES: To explore the influence of abnormal EB on the outcome of sleeve gastrectomy. BACKGROUND: Patients with morbid obesity often suffer from abnormal EB. After LSG, the outcome depends largely on improvement of the feeding behaviors acquired. METHODS: This prospective study includes 300 patients who underwent LSG from 2013 to 2014, divided into the following 4 groups: binge eaters, snack eaters, sweet eaters, and volume eaters. RESULTS: The average age was 41.65 years, the ratio of male to females was 1 to 2. The average baseline body mass index (BMI) was 42.02. After 3 years, no significant change was found in the number of binge eaters (p = 0.396), but there was an 8.9% increase in snack eaters (p < 0.001), a 12.9% increase in sweet eaters (p < 0.001), and 17.2% increase in healthy eating habits (p < 0.001). Sixty-five (24.8%) patients did not experience changes in their eating patterns. However, after surgery, 24.6% of the patients continued with the same EB and 125 (49.5%) patients changed from one EB to another unhealthy EB. Weight loss, measure as ΔBMI, was similar in each group after 3 years, with a mean BMI of 29.8. When eating habits were related to different features such as gender, sports practice, type of work, smoking, marital status, comorbidities, no influence on the operative results were found. CONCLUSION: LSG promotes the reduction of overeaters; however, it promotes a switch between other unhealthy EB. The significant increase in snack eaters and sweet eaters is outstanding, although it did not affect weight loss in the midterm follow-up. Worsening of eating habits after LSG is a common fact.

Analyzing Operating Room Utilization in a Private Medical Center in Israel.

BACKGROUND: Surgery is a core activity in hospitals. Operating rooms have some of the most important and vital functions in medical centers. The operating rooms and their staff are a valuable infrastructure resource and their availability and preparedness affect human life and quality of care. OBJECTIVES: To prepare operational suggestions for improving operating room utilization by mapping current working processes in the operating rooms of a large private medical center. METHODS: Data on 23,585 surgeries performed at our medical center between August 2016 and March 2017 were analyzed by various parameters including utilization, capacity, working hours, and surgery delays. RESULTS: Average operating room utilization was 79%, while 21% was considered lost operating room time. The two major factors that influenced the lost operating room time were the time intervals between planned usage blocks and the partial utilization of operating room time. We calculated that each percent of utilized operating room time translates into 440 surgeries annually, resulting in a potential annual increase in income. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing operating room utilization would result in an improvement of operating room availability and an increased number of procedures. Our analysis shows that operating room utilization in the private healthcare system is efficient compared to the public healthcare system in Israel. Therefore the private healthcare system should be treated as a contributing factor to help lower surgery waiting times and release bottlenecks, rather than being perceived as contributing to inequality.

Outcomes of bariatric surgery in patients with depression disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of sleeve gastrectomy in patients suffering from depression compared with those who are not in a depressive state. INTRODUCTION: Obesity is considered a global epidemic. Often patients with obesity suffer from depressive state. Depressive disorders may be both a cause and a consequence of obesity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study includes 300 consecutives patients that underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Out of the 300 patients, 253 (84.33%) of them completed the follow up for three years. RESULTS: Out of the 300-patients, with the average age of 41.65±11.05 years old, the ratio of males to females was 1:2. The average baseline BMI was 42.02 kg/m2. A total of 105 (35.33%) of the patients suffer from depression, which was more common in male (43%) than in female (31.5%), with statistically significant difference (p = .05). Comparing the weight loss after surgery in both groups, the mean weight loss in the depression-group was 12.0 ΔBMI and in the non-depression group was 13.03 ΔBMI, (p< .001). After three years, 94 (88.68%) patients of the depression group responded as they were optimistic and satisfied with the results of the operation, with positive changes in their lives, 8 (7.55%) did not experience change and 4 (3.77%) expressed to have worsened their depressive state. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is successful and leads to weight loss even in subjects who are affected by depression syndrome.

Bariatric surgery in older adults: Should there be an age limit?

Obesity has become one of the most significant health problems worldwide, affecting more than one-third of the global population. The elderly population is not immune to this proportional increase in obesity. To date, there is no cure for obesity, but surgery is the most effective treatment available today.We analyzed the results of bariatric surgery in elderly patients for a period of 3 years. Patients 65 years old and older were included in the study, 451 older adults were included. The mean age of the study group was 67.92 years old (min. 65, max. 84). The mean body mass index (BMI) was 40.32 Kg/m (min. 34 and max. 59). Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) was the most common procedures, and were conducted in 346 (76.72%) patients, gastric bypasses (GBPs) in 53 (11.75%) of which 33 were roux en y GBP (7.32%) and 20 mini GBPs (4.43%), gastric banding in 48 (10.64%), and duodenal switching in 4 (0.89%) cases.There were 40 (8.86%) patients with perioperative complications, 6 (1.33%) required re-operations, 12 (2.66) patients with operative complications were treated conservatively, 8 (1.77%) re-admission 5 of them with intrabdominal abscess, and 14 (3.10%) with co-morbidities complications. More than 76% of the patients had co-morbidities, 1 year after surgery the average remission of diseases was 34.74%, the improvement was49.67% and no changes in the co-morbidities was 15.59%. There were no deaths reported in this cohort.The mean excess body weight (EBW) loss among the patients was 70.76% (from 32% to 92%). No failure of weight loss (less than 25% of EBW loss) was observed after the first postoperative year.Bariatric surgery offers obese elderly patients an acceptable result, and it can be offered to improve the quality of life of these patients. A new consensus conference panel is needed to set appropriate recommendations regarding criteria that limit bariatric surgery in older adults.

Outcome of bariatric surgery in older patients.

BACKGROUND: People are living longer than they were expected to 2 decades ago. Increased life expectancy and reduced mortality encompasses a simultaneous increase in the number of older adults with obesity that entails an increase of co-morbidities, such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and many other diseases. The aim of our study was to compare the outcomes of bariatric surgery in patients age ≥65 in comparison with younger patients. METHODS: This retrospective study compares bariatric surgeries performed in a private institution between the years 2013 and 2015. The study included 9044 patients divided into an older group (451 patients) and the younger group (8593 patients). RESULTS: In the younger group, bariatric surgery is distributed as follows: 77.68% sleeve gastrectomy, 12.72% gastric banding, 9.27% gastric bypass, and .33% duodenal switch or biliopancreatic diversion; in the older group: 70.51% sleeve gastrectomy, 15.08% gastric bypass, 13.97% gastric band, and .44% biliopancreatic diversion. In the control group 550 cases (6.4%) underwent revisional surgery; 64 cases (14.10%) underwent revision in the older group. Older patients lost less excess weight than younger patients (72.44% versus 86.11%, respectively). Older patients presented higher rates of complications (8.42% versus 5.59%), co-morbidities (77.60% versus 55.45%), and revisions (1.33% versus .77%). There was no statistical difference in hospital stay between older group and control group (2.27 versus 2.23, respectively). When performing a Clavien-Dindo classification, we demonstrated significant differences in class 3B and 4A and no differences in other classes. Two deaths occurred in the control group. Diabetes, fatty liver, and sleep apnea have been improved or remitted in >90% of patients in both groups, hypertension and hyperlipidemia by >80%, and hyperuricemia and ischemic heart disease were improved or resolved in >70% of the patients CONCLUSIONS: Bariatric surgery in the elderly has more complications, but it can still be considered safe.