A Retrospective Study on the Impact of Body Mass Index on Anesthesia-Related Complications

Abstract

Background: Body Mass Index (BMI) is a determining factor of the anesthetic care and the perioperative outcome. The physiological response to anesthesia is altered by obesity and under nutrition and exposes them to complications.

Aim: To determine the relationship between BMI and intraoperative and postoperative complications with anesthesia.

Methodology: The article is retrospective observational research that was carried out at the Department of Anaesthesiology, Gouri Devi institute of medical sciences and hospital, Durgapur, over a period of one year. The patient records studied were 120. Based on BMI, the patients were categorized into underweight, normal, overweight, and obese patients. The data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics and the chi-square tests.

Results: The normal BMI patients were 41.7, overweight (25), obese (20), and underweight (13.3). Airway complications (20%), difficult intubation (18%), and postoperative respiratory complications (22%), were significantly more common in obese patients. Intraoperative hypotension was more in underweight patients (15%).

Conclusion: BMI is a significant predisposing risk factor of complications of anesthesia. Airway and respiratory complications are the risk of obese patients and hemodynamic instability is the risk of underweight patients.

Keywords: BMI, Anesthesia complications, Obesity, Airway management, Perioperative risk