Albuminuria as a predictor of mortality in type II diabetic patients after living-donor liver transplantation.

PURPOSE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of morbidity and mortality after liver resection. Albuminuria is associated with a higher risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. This study evaluated albuminuria as a predictor of the outcome of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in patients with pre-existing DM. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 103 type II diabetic patients with end-stage liver disease who received LDLT. Preoperative spot urine albumin: creatinine ratio was used to determine the degree of albuminuria. The primary outcome measure was the impact of urinary albumin excretion on the 3-year mortality rate after LDLT in this diabetic cohort. RESULTS: Hepatitis C virus infection was the main cause of cirrhosis. Albuminuria was detected in 41 patients (39.8%); 15 had macroalbuminuria, while 26 had microalbuminuria. Patients with microalbuminuria were significantly older than those with macroalbuminuria and normal albumin in urine. After 3 years, twenty-four patients (23.3%) died within 3 years after LT. Myocardial infarction was the leading cause of death (25%). Albuminuria was an independent factor affecting 3-year mortality with an odds ratio of 5.17 (95% CI: 1.86-14.35). CONCLUSION: Preoperative albuminuria is an independent factor affecting mortality within 3 years after LDLT in type II diabetic patients. Myocardial infarction was the leading cause of death in 25% of cases, followed by hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence, sepsis, and graft failure.KEY MESSAGESDiabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of morbidity and mortality after liver resection.Albuminuria is associated with a higher risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.Preoperative albuminuria is a significant predictor of mortality within 3 years after LDLT in diabetic patients.

Effect of preoperative diet regimen on liver size before laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in morbidly obese patients.

BACKGROUND: Low caloric diet can reduce liver volume; however, there is no consensus regarding preoperative weight reduction before bariatric surgery. This study evaluates the effect of preoperative very-lowcalorie diet (VLCD) in patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). METHODS: This prospective study included patients scheduled for LSG stratified into two groups, Diet Group (n = 183) who followed a preoperative VLCD regimen for three weeks and underwent assessment of the liver lobes span before and after regimen, and Control Group (n = 138) who underwent sonographic assessment once before surgery and were operated upon without diet. The outcome measures were the impact of preoperative diet on the liver span, intraoperative complications, anthropometric factors affecting the liver span. RESULTS: Diet regimen resulted in a significant reduction of the right and left lobes. The percentage of the reduction of the left lobe span was significantly higher than that of the right lobe (p < 0.001). Change of the size of the two lobes was correlated positively with weight and body mass index and initial size of both lobes. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the frequency of operative complications. CONCLUSION: VLCD for three weeks before bariatric surgery effectively reduced liver size. The reduction is more in the left lobe. The changes of both lobes were correlated well with the pre- and post-regimen weight and BMI. It was also positively correlated with the initial size of both lobes.

Improvement of Coronary Calcium Scores After Bariatric Surgery in People with Severe Obesity.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a direct measure of coronary atherosclerosis. The study investigated the effect of bariatric surgery on CAC scores in people with severe obesity subjected to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). METHODS: This prospective study included 129 people with severe obesity in two groups; the LSG group (n=74) subjected to surgery and the diet group (n=55), managed by a diet regimen and lifestyle modification. Cardiovascular risk was assessed by Framingham risk score (FRS) and coronary calcium score (CCS) measured by computed tomography initially and after 3 years. RESULTS: The two groups had a comparable CAD risk before treatment according to FRS or CCS. After treatment, CCS improved significantly in the LSG group (p=0.008) but not in the diet group (p=0.149). There was no correlation between FRS and CCS (r=0.005, p=0.952). Treatment resulted in significant weight reduction and improved fasting blood glucose and lipid profile in the two groups. The change of weight, blood glucose, and HDL, and remission of diabetes mellitus (DM) were significantly higher in the LSG group compared to the diet group. CONCLUSION: LSG may reduce the risk of developing future cardiovascular comorbidities evidenced by reducing CAC scores. Significant weight reduction and improvement of cardiovascular risk factors may recommend LSG as a cardioprotective procedure in people with severe obesity.

Intraoperative Factors Associated With Early Recipient Death After Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver Transplant.

OBJECTIVES: Living donor liver transplant is the gold standard therapy for patients with terminal hepatic disorders for whom no alternative therapy is available. The primary aim was to assess different intraoperative factors that may predict early death after adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant. The secondary aim was to assess the effect of small-for-size syndrome on mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective multicenter cohort study was performed on records from 145 adults with cirrhosis who had received a right lobe living donor liver transplant. Patients were divided according to the occurrence of short-term mortality (death within the first month after transplant). The primary intraoperative parameters included graft weight, surgical duration, mean blood pressure, serum lactate and sodium bicarbonate, transfusions, durations of cold and warm ischemia and anhepatic phase, input and output during surgery, and portal venous pressures. RESULTS: There were statistically significant variations between both cohorts for number of units of packed red blood cells, durations of cold and warm ischemia and anhepatic phase, preclamp and postreperfusion portal venous pressures, average urine output, mean serum lactate, mean blood pressure, and surgical duration (P ⟨ .001). Also, there were significant differences in the number of platelets, units of fresh frozen plasma, and mean sodium bicarbonate (P = .025, .003, and .035, respectively). Of the 25 patients who died within the early postoperative period, 20 had developed small-for-size syndrome (P ⟨ .001). CONCLUSIONS: A variety of intraoperative risk factors may affect early posttransplant mortality, which suggests the high complexity of living donor liver transplants and the need for well-trained experienced teams to perform these surgeries.

Changes of epicardial fat thickness after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: a prospective study.

PURPOSE: Epicardial fat thickness is an interesting parameter of early atherosclerosis. We prospectively assessed whether weight loss following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) leads to a significant reduction in the epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and the correlation between the decline in the epicardial fat thickness with other clinical parameters. METHODS: A prospective analysis of 98 cases that were scheduled to undergo LSG and followed up for 12 months was conducted. EFT was assessed using two-dimensional (2 D) echocardiography. RESULTS: A total of 98 cases and 70 controls were enrolled. EFT demonstrated a significant reduction at follow-up in the whole group (median 8.9 (1.95) versus 7.65 (1.67) mm, respectively). The degree of reduction was higher in the LSG cohort compared to control cohort 1.3 (0.4) versus 1 (0.4), respectively; p < .001). The univariate regression analysis demonstrated a notable correlation of the EFT with the weight, body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and creatinine with a p-value of <.0001, .001, .022, and .018, respectively while the multivariate analysis showed a strong correlation between EFT and weight and creatinine with a p-value of <.0001 and .033 respectively. CONCLUSION: LSG can have a favourable impact on metabolic syndrome aspects, namely EFT, as it can decrease it considerably.

Changes of Carotid Intima-Media Thickness After Sleeve Gastrectomy in High Cardiovascular Risk Patients: a Prospective Study.

PURPOSE: There are insufficient data showing the impact of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). Therefore, in the current work, we investigated the improvement of metabolic syndrome and CIMT in patients with obesity after LSG. METHODS: This study involved 120 consecutively selected Egyptian patients with a high cardiovascular risk who underwent LSG and were followed up for 12 months. RESULTS: CIMT declined from 0.95 ± 0.17 mm to 0.83 ± 0.12 (p < 0.001) after 12 months. In addition, the mean fasting blood glucose and fasting inulin level dropped significantly from 153.3 ± 63.6 to 108.8 ± 33.8 mg/dl and from 23.1 ± 7.1 mU/ml to 14.1 ± 6.4 respectively (p < 0.001). Furthermore, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) declined from 7.02 ± 1.7 to 5.5 ± 0.96 (p < 0.001). At the end of the follow-up period, metabolic parameters such as HOMA-IR, C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, AST, and ALT decreased significantly from their respective baselines (p value < 0.001). Moreover, the reduction in CIMT showed a strong positive correlation with the degree of weight loss at 6 months and 12 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: LSG led to a substantial decrease in CIMT. Moreover, it significantly impacted cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, lipid profile, and inflammatory markers.

Factors associated with resolution of type-2 diabetes mellitus after sleeve gastrectomy in obese adults.

Many bariatric procedures are more effective for improving type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) than conventional pharmacotherapy. The current research evaluated factors linked to complete and partial remission or improvement of T2DM after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). The current prospective study included all diabetic patients who were submitted LSG between January 2015 and June 2018 and completed a 2-year follow-up period. Patients were assessed at baseline and 2 years after LSG. This work comprised of 226 diabetic cases. Two years after LSG, 86 patients (38.1%) achieved complete remission of DM, and 24 (10.6%) reached partial remission. Only 14 patients (6.2%) showed no change in their diabetic status. On univariate analysis, age ≤ 45 years, duration of diabetes ≤ 5 years, use of a single oral antidiabetic, HbA1c ≤ 6.5%, HOMA-IR ≤ 4.6, C-peptide > 2.72 ng/mL, and BMI ≤ 40 kg/m2 predicted complete remission. The independent predictors of complete remission were age ≤ 45 years, duration of diabetes ≤ 5 years, use of a single oral antidiabetic, HOMA-IR ≤ 4.6, and C-peptide > 2.72 ng/mL. A combined marker of young age, short duration of DM, and low HOMA-IR predicted complete remission with sensitivity 93% and specificity 82%. Independent predictors of complete remission of T2DM after LSG were younger age, shorter duration, single oral antidiabetic, lower HOMA-IR, and higher C-peptide.

Effect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy on vasoactive mediators in obese hypertensive patients: A prospective study.

INTRODUCTION: The causal relationship between obesity and high blood pressure is established; however, the detailed pathways for such association are still under research. This work aims to assess the changes in neprilysin, vasoconstrictor and vasodilatory molecules in obese hypertensive patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). PATIENTS: The present prospective study was done on 59 hypertensive obese patients in whom LGS was performed. Blood pressure, as well as blood samples for neprilysin, angiotensinogen, angiotensin II, renin, endothelin-1 "ET-1", aldosterone, atrial natriuretic peptide "ANP" and B-type natriuretic peptide "BNP", were assessed before and 15 months after surgery. Patients were divided into two groups according to the remission of hypertension (HTN). RESULTS: After 15 months, remission of hypertension was seen in 42 patients (71%). The declines in the following measurements were significantly higher in patients with remission than those with persistent HTN: aldosterone (p = .029567), angiotensin II (p < .000001), angiotensinogen (p = .000021), neprilysin (p = .000601), renin (p = .000454) and endothelin-1(p = .000030). There was a significantly higher increment in ANP (p = .000002) and a non-significant increment in BNP (p = .081740). Angiotensin II 15 months after LSG and Δ ANP % were significant independent predictors of persistent HTN. CONCLUSION: In the setting of LSG, aldosterone, angiotensinogen, angiotensin II, renin and neprilysin were significantly lower in patients with remission of HTN after 15 months than those with persistent HTN, and natriuretic peptides were significantly higher. A lower postoperative level of angiotensin II and a larger percentage increment of ANP are independently associated with hypertension remission after LSG.