Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Screening in Bariatric Surgery Candidates: Correlating the Findings with GERD symptoms

The role of routine preoperative esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in bariatric surgery candidates is controversial. This study compares preoperative EGD outcomes with patient-reported gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms to determine if a case-based EGD is appropriate.

A prospective cohort study was conducted from April 2022 through September 2023 in Mashhad, Iran. All patients underwent EGD. To assess GERD symptoms, we used the GERD-Health Related Quality of Life questionnaire. Patients were categorized into two groups: the asymptomatic group (GERD-HRQL = 0) and the symptomatic group (GERD-HRQL > 0).

A total of 165 patients were included, out of which 133 (80.6%) were in the symptomatic group and 32 (19.4%) were in the asymptomatic group. Esophagitis was present in 41 (24.8%) patients. There was no significant difference in the frequency of esophagitis (18.8% vs. 26.3%, p-value = 0.37), hiatal hernia (18.8% vs. 18.8%, p-value = 1.00), gastritis (56.3% vs. 63.9%, p-value = 0.42), and H. pylori infection (9.4% vs. 12.0%, p-value = 1.00) between the asymptomatic and symptomatic groups, respectively. None of the demographic factors or comorbidities of asymptomatic patients were associated with esophagitis, except for hiatal hernia (OR = 7.67, 95% CI 3.01–19.53, p-value < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the GERD-HRQL total scores, as well as the heartburn and regurgitation subscales, were poor predictors of esophagitis (AUC 0.57, 0.51, and 0.56, respectively).

EGD findings were not associated with GERD symptoms in candidates for bariatric surgery.