Rapid Scoping Review of Stent Outcomes for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Leaks: A Need for Definitions, Clarity, and Predictive Models

The evidence base of the outcomes of stent placement for post-metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) leaks appears inconsistent. Using three electronic databases, we undertook a scoping review of the literature to identify reasons why this could be the case. Twenty-one published items were included. We observed discrepancies pertaining to definitions of stent success/failure, time frames used for such definitions, characteristics of calculating and reporting stent outcome rates, and inconsistent predictors of stent success, and there were no predictive models of post-MBS stent outcomes. Potential solutions are proposed to these challenges as initial steps to standardized definitions, more clarity, and predictive models rendering calculation of rates and their comparisons more accurate. Attention to these could contribute to a rigorous evidence of stent outcomes and their predictors.