Abstract
Background
While it is well established that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) causes a rapid and
heightened peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC), results from previous studies on
the effects of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on alcohol pharmacokinetics are conflicting.
Data from 2 studies found SG did not affect BAC, whereas another study found SG caused
a heightened peak BAC after alcohol ingestion. Moreover, these 3 studies estimated
BAC from breathalyzers, which might not reliably estimate peak BAC.
Objectives
The aims of this study were to evaluate (1) the effect of SG, relative to RYGB and
a presurgery group, on alcohol pharmacokinetics and subjective effects, and (2) whether
breathalyzers are reliable in this population.
Setting
Single-center prospective nonrandomized trial.
Methods
We performed alcohol challenge tests in 11 women who had SG surgery 1.9 ± .1 years
ago (body mass index = 35.1 ± 6.6 kg/m2), 8 women who had RYGB surgery 2.2 ± .4 years ago (body mass index = 30.0 ± 5.2 kg/m2), and 9 women who were scheduled for bariatric surgery (body mass index = 44.1 ±
4.0 kg/m2). BACs were estimated from breath samples and measured by gas chromatography at various
times after consuming approximately 2 standard drinks.
Results
BAC increased faster, peak BAC was approximately 2-fold higher, and feelings of drunkenness
were heightened in both SG and RYGB groups relative to the presurgery group (P values<.001). BAC estimated from breath samples underestimated BAC by 27% (standard
deviation = 13%) and missed peak BACs postsurgery.
Conclusions
SG, similar to RYGB, causes marked alterations in the response to alcohol ingestion
manifested by a faster and higher peak BAC. The breathalyzer is invalid to assess
effects of gastric surgeries on pharmacokinetics of ingested alcohol.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 09, 2017
Accepted:
November 3,
2017
Received:
August 1,
2017
Footnotes
☆This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants AA 020018, AA024103, DK 56341 (Nutrition Obesity Research Center), UL1 RR024992 (Clinical Translational Science Award), and the Midwest Alcohol Research Center AA 11998.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
