Urgent Need for Consensus on Diabetes Care in Pregnancy After Bariatric Surgery – A Scoping Review Protocol

Bariatric surgery is increasingly common among women of reproductive age, leading to more pregnancies occurring after procedures such as sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and other metabolic surgeries (Falcone et al., 2018). Concurrently, the incidence of diabetes during pregnancy remains high (Chivese et al., 2022). This dual clinical scenario introduces unique challenges due to altered glucose metabolism, risk of hypoglycaemia, nutrient malabsorption, and complications in standard antenatal care protocols (Falcone et al., 2018). Currently, no clear consensus or standardised clinical guideline addresses diabetes management in pregnancy following bariatric surgery (Harreiter et al., 2018). The available evidence is scattered across case reports, expert opinions, and a limited number of observational studies. A scoping review is appropriate to map the breadth of available literature, identify knowledge gaps, and inform future research or clinical guideline development. Objective: The primary objective of this scoping review is to systematically map the existing literature on diabetes care in pregnancy after bariatric surgery and to identify gaps in evidence and consensus. This review will provide a comprehensive overview of available data and inform future research or policy efforts. The term scoping review is intentionally used to denote the exploratory nature of this evidence synthesis.