Medication use before and after bariatric surgery: 5-year results from a randomised controlled trial of banded Roux-en-Y gastric bypass versus sleeve gastrectomy in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

AIM: Bariatric surgery is an effective tool for weight loss and for improving weight related co-morbidities. Changes in medication usage after a silastic ring laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (SR-LRYGB) compared with laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) are unknown. METHODS: This was a single-centre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Patients were randomised to either SR-LRYGB or LSG. A medication history was obtained at regular follow-up intervals, and mean numbers of prescribed medications were analysed over 5 years. Poisson regression and generalised estimating equations were used to test for statistically significant changes in usage. RESULTS: After eight patients were lost to follow-up, data from 52 patients in each group were available for analysis. There was no difference between the SR-LRYGB or LSG groups in the number of medications prescribed, with the exception of oral glucose-lowering medications, where there was a greater decrease after SR-LRYGB compared to LSG (79% vs 55% respectively) from baseline to 5 years. At 5 years, total medication prescribed was down 10% from pre-operative levels. Prescribed insulin decreased by 72%, and cardiovascular medication decreased by 56% compared to baseline. Prescriptions for analgesia increased by 50%, psychiatric medications by 133% and proton-pump inhibitors by 81%. CONCLUSION: Both SR-LRYGB and LSG reduced requirement for diabetic and cardiovascular medications, but increased requirement for nutritional supplementation, analgesia and psychiatric medications. There was a greater reduction in oral anti-diabetic medication prescriptions following SR-LRYGB compared to LSG, but no other difference in medication usage between surgical groups was found.

Management of acute sigmoid volvulus in a provincial centre-a 20-year experience.

AIM: At our institution there has been a long-standing early operative approach to large bowel volvulus as well as initial decompression with rigid sigmoidoscopy. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of this approach on reducing readmissions and complications. Secondary aims were to investigate the safety and efficacy of bedside rigid sigmoidoscopy in decompression of sigmoid volvulus and investigate the sensitivity of abdominal x-ray in the diagnosis of acute large bowel volvulus. METHOD: A retrospective study was conducted on all patients presenting with acute obstruction due to large bowel volvulus between 1 January 1998-1 January 2018. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients with acute sigmoid volvulus were identified that met the inclusion criteria with a median age of 81 years. The majority of patients 27/34 (79%) were booked for surgery on the first admission. Readmissions were reduced in the index operative group 1/20 (5%) vs the non-operative decompression group 3/4 (75%) RR 0.07 (CI 0.01-0.49 P=0.01). CONCLUSION: Early sigmoid colectomy was associated with low morbidity and found to be safe in the elderly, and the results suggest that early surgery is associated with reduced readmissions and a low complication rate, with index surgery preferable to urgent elective surgery. Rigid sigmoidoscopy is a safe method of decompression as a bridge to index surgery and was not associated with any complications in this series.

Inverted Meckel's diverticulum as a cause of obscure lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

Inverted Meckel's diverticulum is an infrequent cause of gastrointestinal blood loss, especially in adults. A high index of suspicion is needed for this rare entity when entertaining the possible differentials of gastrointestinal bleeding.