The effect of pre-surgery clinical communication on bariatric surgery outcomes: a prospective study

Abstract

Background/Objective: Research shows that a positive doctor-patient relationship plays an important role in patient outcomes. However, the influence of their communication during the pre-surgery preparatory consultation (PC) for Bariatric Surgery (BS) remains unclear. The goal of this study was to inspect the association between patients' perceptions of doctor-patient communication (DPC) in the PC for BS and the results of the BS. Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, participants (n = 89, age≥18 years) were all the patients who underwent BS at the Hospital São João between October of 2023 and January of 2024. Before the surgery, patients' perspectives regarding DPC and anxiety levels during that PS were assessed with the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y (STAI-Y), respectively. One month after the surgery, participants' levels of well-being were assessed through the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36). Clinical data were obtained through patients' electronic records. Data were analyzed with regression models. Results: In the adjusted models, associations (p<0.05) were found for the following outcomes: patient well-being, particularly bodily pain and social functioning, weight loss, and BMI decrease. Significant differences (p<0.05) were also found for digestive complaints and for patient perception of physician support after the surgery. Conclusions: There is a positive effect of DPC on the clinical results of BS. More studies are necessary for inspection of the generalizability of these findings.