Abstract
Obesity is a significant healthcare issue in today's society, affecting over 300 million people worldwide, and is one of the world's leading causes of death. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are obese, and it is the second leading cause of preventable death. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between elevated blood glucose levels, elevated white blood cell counts, and hospital readmission rates for deep wound infections in patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Two hundred nine Roux-en-Y patients' preoperative and postoperative white blood cell counts and blood glucose levels are compared in an analytical nonexperimental approach. There is a statistically significant relationship between elevated blood glucose levels and increased white blood cell counts. To improve patient outcomes, tight control of glucose in the perioperative period of bariatric surgery may decrease the rate of infection.
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