Effects of Duodenal-Jejunal Bypass Liner (EndoBarrier®) on Gastric Emptying in Obese and Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Introduction The duodenal-jejunal bypass liner (DJBL) is a promising technique for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, despite promising results, its mechanism of action has not been elucidated. It is thought to promote changes in gastric emptying owing to the neuro-endocrine axis. Objective The aim of this paper was to study DJBL-induced changes in gastric emptying and the relationship of those changes with weight loss and T2DM. Methods Twenty-five patients with obesity and T2DM met inclusion criteria. Scintigraphic gastric emptying testing was performed prior to implantation, 16 weeks after implantation, and 4 weeks after removal. The average gastric retention was compared between tests, to examine the relationship between gastric emptying and those who lost more than 10 % of total body weight. Similarly, we compared average gastric retention between those who achieved a glycated hemoglobin target lower than 7 %. Results Average gastric retention was greater after DJBL implantation compared with the baseline (first hour, 74 ± 16.3 %, p = 0.001; second hour, 45 ± 25 %, p