Prior bariatric surgery is associated with lower mortality and resource utilization following small bowel obstruction.

Background: Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a complication of bariatric surgery. However, outcomes of surgical intervention for SBO among patients with prior bariatric surgery remain ill-defined. We used a nationally representative cohort to characterize the outcomes of the SBO management approach in patients with a prior bariatric operation. Methods: All adult hospitalizations for SBO were tabulated from the 2018-2020 National Readmissions Database. Patients with a prior history of bariatric surgery comprised the Bariatric cohort (others: Non-Bariatric). Multivariable models were subsequently developed to evaluate the association of prior bariatric surgery with outcomes of interest. Results: Of an estimated 299,983 hospitalizations for SBO, 15,788 (5.3 %) had a history of prior bariatric surgery. Compared to Non-Bariatric, Bariatric patients were younger (54 [46-62] vs 57 [47-64] years, Conclusions: Patients with prior bariatric surgery demonstrated a lower likelihood of mortality, decreased complications, and reduced resource utilization, relative to others. As the incidence of bariatric surgery continues to rise, future work is needed to minimize the incidence of SBO among these patients, especially in the current era of value-based healthcare.