Severely Obese Patients At Higher Risk Of Developing Infection Post Heart Bypass Surgery - Study

A new study suggests patients who are suffering from severe obesity are at a higher risk of developing an infection following a heart bypass surgery as compared to others.According to the study, patients with severe obesity are three times more likely to develop an infection after getting a coronary artery bypass surgery than normal weight patients. The surgery redirects blood flow to the heart around clogged arteries.

"Based on the results of this study it appears that addressing infection risk might be an effective strategy to decrease the length-of-stay for patients with obesity who undergo coronary artery bypass surgery," said Mary Forhan, senior author of the study, reported UPI.

Forhan is an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. For the study, the research team evaluated data of around 7,500 Canadians who had coronary artery bypass surgery between April 2003 and March 2014.

The patients were divided into different groups on the basis of their Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is an estimate of a person's body fat based on height and weight. The groups included normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9); overweight (25-29.9); and obesity class I (30-34.9), class II (35-39.9), and class III (40 or higher).

The study found that severely obese patients had triple the risk of infection after bypass surgery compared to normal weight patients. The severely obese also spent a median of one day more in the hospital. It was also found that severely obese patients with diabetes who experienced an infection stayed 3.2 times longer in the hospital than patients without either condition, according to U.S.News & World Report.

However, the researchers could not find out the reason as to why these patients are at higher risk of developing infections post heart bypass surgery.

"We need further study that includes ways of preventing infection using evidence-based methods, and determining if such methods meet the needs of coronary artery bypass patients with moderate to severe obesity," Forhan said, reported Eureka Alert.

It is to be noted that around 400,000 people in the United States get coronary artery bypass surgery every year. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, every seven in 10 adults aged 20 or above are either overweight or obese.

The study findings have been published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.