Background: We aimed to assess the changes in composition of bacterial microbiota at two levels of the digestive tract: oral cavity and large intestine in patients 6 months after bariatric surgery.
Methods: This was a prospective cohort study including patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Before surgery and 6 months after the procedure, oral swabs were obtained and stool samples were provided. Our endpoint was the analysis of the differences in compositions of oral and fecal microbiota prior and after the surgical treatment of obesity.
Results: Bacteria from phylum Bacteroidetes seemed to increase in abundance in both the oral cavity and the large intestine 6 months after surgery among patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The subgroup analysis we conducted based on the volume of weight-loss revealed that patients achieving at least 50% of excess weight loss present similar results to the entire study group. Patients with less favorable outcomes presented an increase in the population of bacteria from phylum Fusobacteria and a decrease of phylum Firmicutes in oral cavity.
Conclusion: Intestinal microbiota among these patients underwent similar changes in composition to the rest of the study group. Bariatric surgery introduces a significant change in composition of oral and intestinal microbiota.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04582006.
Keywords: Bariatric surgery; Microbiota; Obesity.
© 2022. The Author(s).