Ozempic-like drugs can include risks for surgical patients, officials say

Civil servants in the UK have warned that always popular drugs for weight loss such as Ozempic can have additional risks for people who need surgery.

The drugs slow down the release of food and liquid from the stomach, making patients feel fuller for longer and help many to shed excess kilos. But this same mechanism can increase the risk of rare surgical complication called ‘aspiration’, whereby the contents of the stomach enters the lungs.

Patients fast before surgical procedures to reduce the chance that they inhale food or liquid from their intestine while they are under anesthesia. But those with certain weight loss and diabetes drugs can still have leftovers in their system after a standard pre-surgical fast, according to a warning from the United Kingdom Medications and care products Regulating agency.

Ozempic-like medicines and slow gastric emptying

GLP-1 and Double GIP/GLP-1 receptor antagonists-the active ingredients in semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and Tirzeparide (Zepbound and Mounjaro) can cause this slow stomach Empy. But people who use the medicines may not be aware of the risks it can add to general anesthesia and deep sedation.

If the contents of the stomach enters the lungs, this can cause serious complications, including a lung infection known as aspiration pneumonia. This potentially fatal condition often requires antibiotics to treat.

The MHRA says it has received a small number of reports from British patients about the drugs that inhale stomach contents during surgery. In one case, a patient developed aspiration pneumonia.

The agency says that patients must ensure that their care team knows whether they use the medication in advance, the regulator said. But they should not change or stop taking medication unless they are advised by a doctor.

Anesthesiists and other care providers must assess this extra risk when managing surgical patients who use a medicine such as Ozempic or Zepbound, especially if they have other health problems that increase their chance of delayed gastrics, says the MHRA.

Is Ozempic safe for surgery?

Medical authorities in Europe and the US have issued similar warnings because the popularity of Ozempic and other weight loss medicines has risen. In the US alone, according to a recent at least 12% of adults, a GLP-1 RA tried Jama Network Poll.

Last summer, the European Medicines Agency released a series of guidelines for the management of surgical patients with medicines, including Wegovy, Mounjaro and Tirzepatide.

The EMA found no causal link between taking the medicines and inhaling stomach contents. But it found an “biological plausible risk” after assessing available case reports and other literature.

In 2023, the American Society of Anesthesiologists Recommended patients stop taking medicines such as Ozempic and Trulicity entirely prior to operations.

The Food and Drug Administration, which announced that it is the safety of weight loss medicines on research surgery Last January was more conservative with his statements. In November the labeling updated on medicines, including Ozempic to display a small number of cases of stomach contents that enter the lungs.

Labels now state that although there is not enough evidence to support recommendations, such as stopping the drugs before the operation, patients must ensure that their health teams know that they use them in advance.

The MHRA also does not recommend a blanket on drugs such as Ozempic or Mounjaro before operations. Instead, it points to a recent consensus From various British anesthesistic groups that, instead, call for individual risk assessments and risk voltage measures for patients using the medicines.