People on diabetes and weight loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s (NYSE:NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy should stop taking them before having elective surgery to reduce the risk of serious health complications, a prominent group of doctors said.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists, an organization of more than 53,000 physicians engaged in anesthesiology, released interim guidance with that suggestion late Thursday.
The guidance aims to help doctors manage patients on those drugs who are scheduled to undergo elective surgeries, which are non-emergency procedures such as kidney stone removal, joint replacement and cosmetic surgery.
The ASA said the guidance reflects concerns related to delayed stomach emptying, or when food sits in the stomach for longer than usual. That’s one effect of diabetes and weight loss drugs, which mimic a hormone produced in the gut called GLP-1 and ultimately suppress a person’s appetite.
Delayed stomach emptying may cause patients undergoing anesthesia to experience nausea, vomiting and aspiration, which is when a person accidentally breathes food into their lungs rather than swallowing it, according to the ASA. That’s why patients are typically required to fast before undergoing anesthesia for procedures.
Ozempic and Wegovy are already associated with stomach issues like diarrhea and constipation. But doctors acknowledge that there is still a lack of scientific data on how exactly anesthesia interacts with those drugs, which are also known as GLP-1s.
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