Do ICU Infrastructure Requirements Match Critical Care Needs After Elective Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery? A Retrospective Cohort Study

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This retrospective cohort study described 30-day outcomes and postoperative ICU use after elective metabolic and bariatric surgery at one center without an on-site ICU.
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The center used a predefined escalation protocol with 24-hour consultant surgical and anesthetic coverage and transfer to a tertiary ICU in approximately 20 minutes.
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The study included consecutive adults undergoing elective sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, or laparoscopic cholecystectomy from 2022 through 2025.
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The primary outcome was 30-day complications, defined as intervention-requiring deviations from normal recovery and classified using the Clavien-Dindo system.
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The quality-assurance dataset lacked comorbidity information, including ASA class, obstructive sleep apnea, and cardiopulmonary disease.

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