The use of drugs in patients who have undergone bariatric surgery

Abstract

Mariana de Sousa Prado Geraldo,1 Fernando Luiz Affonso Fonseca,2,3 Marisa Regina de Fatima Veiga Gouveia,4 David Feder41Department of Medicine, Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, 2Department of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, 3Department of Hematology, Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, 4Department of Pharmacology, Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, Santo Andre, SP, Brazil Abstract: According to the World Health Organization, obesity has become an epidemic in the 21st century affecting around 300 million people of all ages worldwide. Clinical treatment modalities for this disease are limited and ineffective when it comes to morbidly obese patients (body mass index – the weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared – surpasses 40 kg/m2). Therefore, the alternative, surgical treatment, is the best option for these patients, namely gastric restrictive procedures or an intestinal bypass culminating in a malabsorptive syndrome. In the past 20 years, there has been a 70% increase in the number of bariatric procedures all over the world. The main pharmacokinetic consequence observed in the postoperative period of these individuals is a higher or lower absorption of orally administered drugs.Keywords: anatomophysiological alterations, pharmacokinetic, obesity