To understand the safety of bariatric surgery in patients aged 65 years and older during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Findings:
30-day morbidity was significantly higher in patients ≥ 65 years (11.4%) compared to those < 65 years (6.6%) (p = 0.022).
No significant difference in 30-day mortality (1 in Group I vs 8 in Group II, p = 0.17) or symptomatic postoperative COVID-19 infection rates (0 in Group I vs 38 in Group II, p = 1.000) between the two groups.
94.6% of patients ≥ 65 years had at least one comorbidity compared to 68.3% in the younger group.
Interpretation:
Increased morbidity in older patients may be attributed to a higher prevalence of comorbidities, which could impact clinical decisions, but mortality rates were comparable across age groups.
Limitations:
Heterogeneity in studies regarding definitions of older patients and varying age cutoffs, such as differing definitions of comorbidities.
Limited generalizability due to the observational nature of the study, which may not reflect all bariatric surgery practices.
Conclusion:
Bariatric surgery in patients ≥ 65 years is associated with higher morbidity but similar mortality and COVID-19 infection rates compared to younger patients during the pandemic, suggesting careful consideration in surgical decision-making.
A retrospective database study found a low absolute incidence but higher relative hazard of ischemic optic neuropathy following semaglutide initiation.
