Driving Performance after Intake of Glucose vs. Aspartame in Patients with Postprandial Hypoglycemia following Gastric Bypass Surgery

Abstract

Background: Due to the high rate of asymptomatic patients, the impact of postprandial hypoglycemia after bariatric surgery (PBH) on daily activities such as driving remains controversial. We sought to assess driving performance in patients with PBH. Methods: In a random single-blind crossover study, 10 active drivers with PBH (2 males, age 38±15years, BMI 27.2±4.6kg/m2, gastric bypass 5±2years ago) ingested 75g glucose (GLU) to induce hypoglycemia or aspartame (ASP). A simulator was driven during 10min before and at 20 (D1), 80 (D2), 125 (D3) and 140min (D4) after GLU/ASP, reflective of expected blood glucose (BG) increase (D1), decrease (D2), and hypoglycemia (D3 and D4). Seven driving features (traffic violations and high accelerations) were integrated in a Bayesian hierarchical regression model to assess altered driving performance in GLU vs. ASP. Results: Mean peak and nadir BG after GLU were 182±24 and 47±14mg/dl, respectively. BG was stable after ASP (85±4mg/dl). Driving performance differed between GLU and ASP at times of hypoglycemia (Figure 1), particularly D4, whereas no differences were found for D1 and D2. The posterior probability for impaired driving after GLU was 16% in D1, 82% for D2, 81% for D3 and 98% for D4. Conclusion: Our findings suggest impaired driving performance during PBH.