Missing something? A scoping review of venous thromboembolic events and their associations with bariatric surgery. Refining the evidence base

Abstract

Background: Venous thromboembolic events (VTE) post-bariatric surgery (BS) lead to morbidity and mortality. Methods: This scoping review assessed whether reported VTE post-BS could be under/over-estimated; suggested a possible number of VTE post-BS; appraised whether VTE are likely to decrease/increase; examined BS as risk/protective factor for VTE; and mapped the gaps, proposing potential solutions. Results: VTE appears under-estimated due to: identification/coding of BS and VTE; reporting of exposure (BS); and reporting of outcomes (VTE). The review proposes a hypothetical calculation of VTE post-BS. VTE are unlikely to decrease soon. BS represents risk and protection for VTE. Better appreciation of VTE-BS relationships requires longer-term strategies. Conclusion: VTE are underestimated. Actions are required for understanding the VTE-BS relationships to in order to crease VTE by better-informed prevention strategy/ies.