Absorption of Drugs Post-Bariatric Surgery (Absorb-Azithromycin)
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Bariatric (obesity) surgery has become the preferred treatment option for patients with
severe obesity and is increasing in popularity. It is commonly performed, with nearly 350 000
operations in the world every year. The most common type of bariatric surgery is gastric
bypass, in which stomach size is reduced by 95% and the upper intestine is bypassed. Bypass
of the upper intestine may lead to medication malabsorption, although this potential adverse
effect has received little study.
The objective of this study is to determine whether gastric bypass reduces the absorption of
a azithromycin, a medication commonly prescribed first-line for infections, especially
pneumonia. Patients and non-surgical controls will receive a single dose of azithromycin
under highly standardized study conditions. The absorption of azithromycin will be calculated
and compared between surgical and non-surgical study groups.
The investigators hypothesis is that there will be a significant reduction in the absorption
of azithromycin in gastric bypass patients compared to non-surgical controls. This raises the
possibility that post-gastric bypass patients treated with azithromycin may fail to respond
to treatment, become worse and even die. This study will have important implications for the
large number of past and future gastric bypass recipients.