[Effectiveness and safety of intragastric ballon in obese and overweight patients]

Ruano-Ravina A
Record ID 32006000218
Spanish
Authors' objectives:

The intragastric balloon is a proposed technology for enabling obese and superobese patients to lose weight. The balloon is biocompatible and is endoscopically placed in and removed from the stomach, where it remains for approximately six months causing a feeling of fullness, which, in theory, leads to lower food intake. The aim of this review is to assess the efficacy and safety of the BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon (BIB) for achieving weight loss in obese or overweight patients.

Authors' results and conclusions: Although the studies reported weight loss following balloon implantation, all suffered from major methodologic problems, essentially: over-wide or poorly defined inclusion criteria; absence of a comparison group in which another intervention could be performed; and absence of a sufficiently long follow-up to enable ascertainment of the existence of medium-term weight loss. Insofar as safety was concerned, most patients experienced nausea and vomiting in the first week of a kind that could require balloon removal and a small percentage of patients presented with intestinal obstruction or balloon impaction that rendered surgical extraction necessary. In many cases, the balloon deflated and was passed naturally.
Authors' recommendations: The intragastric balloon could bring about weight reduction among obese and overweight patients, though the methodology of the studies undertaken is extremely weak. Moreover, nothing is known about the magnitude of this reduction compared to other alternatives or whether it is maintained across time. The procedure must be monitored due to the possible risk of intestinal obstruction among a small percentage of patients.
Authors' methods: Systematic review
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 2005
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: Spain
MeSH Terms
  • Gastric Balloon
  • Overweight
  • Obesity
Contact
Organisation Name: Scientific Advice Unit, avalia-t; The Galician Health Knowledge Agency (ACIS)
Contact Address: Conselleria de Sanidade, Xunta de Galicia, San Lazaro s/n 15781 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Tel: 34 981 541831; Fax: 34 981 542854;
Contact Name: avalia-t@sergas.es
Contact Email: avalia-t@sergas.es
Copyright: Galician Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AVALIA-T)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.