Patients who fail to disclose the use of weight loss jabs or unapproved peptides before undergoing surgery could face serious consequences, according to doctors issuing a fresh warning. Recent findings revealed that individuals taking GLP-1 medication face an 11-fold increase in the likelihood of regurgitation or aspiration while under a general anaesthetic.
Surgical Complications Linked to GLP-1 Medications
The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) warned that patients taking GLP-1 based medication such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, or Wegovy, as well as unapproved peptides like retatrutide, are at an increased risk of pulmonary aspiration. ANZCA President Tanya Selak stated that standard fasting protocols might not empty a patient’s stomach because these medications slow digestion.
When a patient is under anaesthetic, automatic safety reflexes like coughing and swallowing are switched off. If food or fluid remains in the stomach, it can come back up and then slip into the airway and lungs, causing serious lung injury. Pulmonary aspiration can be fatal, prompting experts to describe the risk for GLP-1 users under general anaesthetic as an accident waiting to happen.
Study Findings Across 47,000 Patients
A peer-reviewed study published in the Anaesthesia journal examined more than 47,000 patients across the UK, identifying almost 1,350 individuals who had been taking GLP-1 drugs for three months prior to surgery. The research revealed that these patients were 11 times more likely to regurgitate or aspirate contents under general anaesthetic compared to those not taking the medications.
Most recorded incidents only involved regurgitation, and episodes typically occurred as patients woke up from anaesthesia. However, study authors noted that the link may not be necessarily causal, as individuals with obesity or diabetes already face an increased risk of aspiration or regurgitation.
Reasons Behind Non-Disclosure
Medical professionals report that some patients arrive for procedures without declaring their medication use. Anaesthetists are having to employ alternative techniques or even turn people away as a result. According to ANZCA, patients often fail to declare their medication use due to embarrassment, forgetting, or a desire to conceal the purchase of unapproved peptides.
Some people will come and write that they’re not on any medications but by the time I’ve asked them a number of different things we’ve found out I’m also on a peptide injection someone gave me at the gym,
Tanya Selak said, highlighting the strong weight stigma and fear that by disclosing private personal details they might be judged or treated differently.
Debate Over Pre-Surgery Medication Pauses
While the research found around a third of patients were advised to stop taking their medication for a week before surgery, experts caution against this. Professor Michael Horowitz of Adelaide University said that advice was demonstrably stupid, noting that slowed gastric emptying can persist for some time.
Stopping a GLP-1 can additionally present hazards for individuals utilizing it to control type 2 diabetes, alongside other potential consequences like the forfeiture of linked kidney advantages. Horowitz emphasized that because there is not a good evidence base to give advice, patients are getting mixed advice.
Under ANZCA guidelines, individuals using GLP-1 drugs are advised to consume clear fluids for a full day prior to undergoing a standard six-hour fasting period before their operation. The college also recommends anaesthetists specifically ask their patients whether they are on GLP-1 medication.
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