CHICAGO, Illinois – People taking well-liked diabetes and weight reduction medicine resembling Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy or Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro ought to briefly cease taking them earlier than having elective surgical procedure to keep away from doable severe issues, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) mentioned on Thursday.
The group has obtained anecdotal reviews from throughout the nation that sufferers taking the medicine could also be at elevated danger of vomiting and aspirating meals into the lungs and airways throughout normal anesthesia or deep sedation, Dr. Michael Champeau, president of the ASA, mentioned in an interview.
“This is a big deal because the aspiration of gastric contents – sucking food that was in the stomach … into your lungs – is such a catastrophic complication,” Champeau mentioned.
That complication is why sufferers have to quick earlier than surgical procedure. “It’s a major concern for us,” he mentioned.
The steering concerned a comparatively new class of medication often known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. The remedies can assist decrease blood sugar ranges, however additionally they delay abdomen emptying, which might lower starvation and cut back the quantity of meals individuals eat, a aspect impact that has made the remedies wildly well-liked as weight reduction medicines.
Initial reviews counsel that sufferers who’ve skilled gastric uncomfortable side effects, resembling nausea or vomiting, whereas taking GLP-1 agonists have been extra more likely to have elevated residual meals of their abdomen, the group mentioned.
Champeau mentioned the ASA has obtained quite a few requests from members for steering previously month about tips on how to handle the issue in sufferers who at the moment are on GLP-1 agonists.
According to ASA’s interim steering, issued on Thursday, individuals taking GLP-1 medicine every day ought to skip therapy the day of the surgical procedure. For these taking the drug weekly, ASA recommends stopping therapy per week earlier than the scheduled surgical procedure.
They warning that individuals who take the medicine for diabetes management ought to seek the advice of their endocrinologist about any remedies that could possibly be used within the interim earlier than surgical procedure.
If sufferers have nausea on the day of surgical procedure, physicians ought to reschedule the process.
Champeau mentioned the group’s recommendation mirrored the totality of the accessible proof and the potential danger to sufferers.
The ASA is asking for extra analysis on the dangers of those remedies for sufferers who want anesthesia throughout surgical procedure and would take into account writing formal tips as extra proof turns into accessible.
The firms weren’t instantly accessible for remark. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
