(NewsNation) — Patients who are on popular weight-loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and others, could face complications during surgery, a new study by UTHealth Houston shows.
The study, published in the scientific journal JAMA Surgery, found that patients on GLP-1 medications like these were more likely to have residual gastric content — solids and liquids in the stomach — during surgical procedures, a major risk factor while under anesthesia.
GLP-1 RAs (glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists) are commonly prescribed to patients with Type 2 diabetes to help stabilize blood glucose levels. They have also become popular to prescribe for obesity to assist in weight loss.
Patients are told to fast before surgical procedures in order to minimize what’s in their stomach. GLP-1 medications like Ozempic slow digestion, which could mean the normal fasting recommendations are not enough.
Surgeons and anesthesiologists are seeking more data for patients on these drugs.
“The idea is that patients who are appropriately fasted prior to an elective surgery should have an empty stomach, because we are putting them on anesthesia and we are giving them paralytics. The hope is that they don’t regurgitate contents from their stomach into their lungs,” Dr. Sudipta Sen, an associate professor of anesthesiology and first author of the study said.
Not having an empty stomach during surgery is a major risk factor for pulmonary aspiration, which is when stomach contents or other foreign substances enter the lungs and airway. While not always serious, it can lead to severe complications including infection, aspiration pneumonia and death.
The study looked at 124 patients who were already scheduled for elective, non-emergency surgery. Half the patients in the study were prescribed a GLP-1 RA, while the rest were kept as the control group. The average age of the group was 56 and was 60% female.
Using a technique known as gastric ultrasound, researchers were able to evaluate the stomach content of the patients before receiving anesthesia. They screened for solids, thick liquids or more than 1.5ml/kg of clear liquids.
Researchers found that 56% of people using GLP-1s showed increased residual gastric content, compared to 19% of those not taking the medication. The research team says there was a 30% prevalence of increased content in the stomach with the use of weight loss drugs.
“This study definitely addresses a timely issue, because these drugs are being used so much more now. For the surgeons, we don’t know what to do with these…drugs,” Dr. Cindy Kin, an associate professor of surgery at Stanford Medicine, told Healthline.”It’s introducing some new questions.”