US researchers have reported patients taking GLP-1 agonist drugs for a weight management could risk keyhole surgery complications, such as aspiration pneumonia, after endoscopy.
The team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles announced patient should suspend the intake of certain popular drugs used weight management in obesity, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, before undergoing endoscopy procedures to mitigate the risk of aspiration pneumonia.
Their study involves extensive analysis of data from nearly 1 million US patients who had undergone upper or lower endoscopy procedures, highlighted dangerous post by these treatments ‘due to their impact on digestion and food retention in the stomach’.
Given the ‘sheer volume of endoscopies performed annually in the US, these findings may advocate for careful reconsideration of medication schedules to reduce the number of aspirations incidents,’ noted midicalnewstoday.com.
The study, published in Gastroenterology, identified drugs such as is and pick and Wegovy – glucagon-like peptide- 1 receptor agonists (GLP- 1RAs) – used to manage diabetes and obesity, could lead to a higher chance of developing aspiration pneumonia after undergoing procedures.
Aspiration pneumonia occurs if a person bread something into their lungs instead of swallowing it; germs, food particles, saliva, vomit or other substances may infect the airways.
Because recent weight-management drugs slow digestion, extending the sensation of fullness and reducing food intake, food remains in the stomach for a longer period; hence the stomach might not be fully emptied during to standard fasting period recommended before surgical interventions to minimise the risk of aspiration.
Dr Ali Rezaie at Cedars-Sinai commented: ‘ patients who are on these medications have 33% higher chance of aspiration ammonia compare to those who don’t take these medications.
‘this increased risk was seen even after adjusting for underlying co-morbidities and other medications that increase the risk of aspiration.’
However, he also cautioned: ‘it is important to understand overall risk of aspiration is the low at 0.8% but if you are on these medications, this risk can be reduced to 0.6% (33% less) I temporarily holding that medication prior to the procedure if deemed appropriate by your healthcare provider.’
Dr Rezaie summed up: ‘considering we perform 20 million and those copies per year in the US, and a significant proportion of the population area on these medications, holding those medications prior to elective procedures can save thousands of lives and hospitalisation.
