Short and medium term glycaemic control after pancreaticoduodenectomy

Perioperative outcomes of pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) have improved over the years. Glycaemic control in longterm survivors is a matter of concern. Materials and methods 48 surviving patients of 66 patients who underwent Whipple surgery from 2011 to 2015 were evaluated. Patients with recurrences, who had chemotherapy within three months and patients who had not completed a minimum six months follow-up were excluded. 25 patients were selected. Patients' demographic data, HbA1c level, fasting blood sugar level, physical activity index and waist to hip ratio were calculated. Volume of the pancreatic specimen was calculated. Non diabetics underwent oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Results There were 6 (24%) pre-existing diabetics, 3 new onset diabetics and two patients with impaired glucose tolerance (20%). Median preoperative BMI, body fat distribution, calculated median pancreatic volumes resected or underlying pancreatic pathology did not differ in diabetic and non-diabetic groups. In non-diabetics, HbA1c level or two hour OGTT did not associate with age, preoperative BMI, waist to hip ratio and resected pancreatic volumes. Conclusion Significant proportion of patients develop diabetes immediately after PD. Reliable prediction of this group pre-operatively is difficult due to many interacting, confounding factors. They need close monitoring in immediate perioperative period.