Nurses who specialise in anesthesia have issued new pointers to scale back the danger that sufferers taking weight-loss medication like Ozempic or Wegovy throw up throughout surgical procedure.
“These drugs have exploded in recognition,” mentioned Micah Walden, of the American Affiliation of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) Follow Committee. “This implies further preparation for sufferers, anesthesia suppliers and the surgical staff to assist decrease dangers of problems throughout a process.”
As a result of common anesthesia could cause nausea, sufferers are normally requested to quick earlier than surgical procedure. However a examine printed final week within the journal JAMA Surgical procedure discovered these weight-loss medication — known as GLP-1 receptor agonists — gradual digestion, so it takes longer for meals to depart the abdomen. That will increase a affected person’s danger of vomiting or aspiration whereas below anesthesia.
GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic, Wegovy (semaglutide), Saxenda (liraglutide) or Zepbound (tirzepatide) had been initially designed to handle Kind 2 diabetes, however they’ve turn out to be a preferred approach to drop some pounds. They make sufferers really feel full sooner, so that they eat much less.
As a precaution, the AANA committee mentioned suppliers could have to do additional screenings corresponding to an ultrasound of the affected person’s abdomen earlier than surgical procedure. If the examination signifies that the abdomen is just not empty or the imaging is inconclusive, the surgical staff could contemplate delaying an elective surgical procedure or continuing as “full abdomen” to scale back the danger of vomiting and aspiration whereas the affected person is intubated for anesthesia care, the committee mentioned.
As they developed their suggestions, members of the apply committee mentioned they thought-about the size of time numerous GLP-1 drugs proceed to have an effect on sufferers.
They advocate withholding remedy for per week earlier than surgical procedure if sufferers take a weekly dose. These on a every day dose shouldn’t use the remedy on the day of process, the suggestions advise.
The suggestions had been printed March 12.
“Open communication between sufferers and the surgical staff is vital to suggestions for withholding GLP-1 agonist drugs previous to surgical procedure,” Walden mentioned in an AANA information launch. “As suppliers, we take that info under consideration to carry out an individualized, case-by-case evaluation and create a care plan that may hold the affected person secure and comfy earlier than, throughout and after the process.”