Utilising a modified accelerated Delphi process to develop a national multidisciplinary consensus on peri-operative optimisation of patients with obesity undergoing non-bariatric surgery.

Background: In the last three decades, the worldwide prevalence of obesity has increased by threefold. Using a modified Delphi consensus technique, the Irish Surgical Research Collaborative (ISRC) aimed to formulate consensus guidelines on the peri-operative optimisation of patients with obesity undergoing non-bariatric surgery.

Methods: Subgroups within the ISRC were established to formulate consensus statements using a nominal group technique (NGT) to address the three domains of pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative care. Three Delphi rounds were circulated nationally to multidisciplinary members of the peri-operative team via electronic survey. Consensus was considered achieved for any statement with >80 % agreement. Data was analysed using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corp, Redmond, WA).

Results: Following three Delphi rounds, a total of 94 statements centred around optimising peri-operative care for patients with obesity undergoing non-bariatric surgery reached consensus. Pre-operatively, access to prehabilitation, use of pre-operative risk stratification tools and strategies to reduce obesity-related co-morbidities were all deemed important along with nomination of a hospital obesity lead. Intra-operatively, the prioritised domains were involvement of consultant anaesthetist and surgeon for safe and considered patient positioning, utilisation of minimally invasive surgical techniques, adherence to venous thromboembolism prophylaxis and surgical site infection prevention strategies as well as adoption of multimodal analgesia. Appropriate analgesia prescription, nutritional support, enhanced recovery after surgery and the role of physiotherapy were all deemed essential elements of post-operative care.

Conclusion: As a multidisciplinary peri-operative group, through Delphi consensus, we report agreed perioperative standards to optimise the perioperative care of patients with obesity undergoing non-bariatric surgery. This consensus can be utilised to standardise clinical practice and identify areas for quality improvement.