Forbes January 30, 2025
Officials in the U.K. have warned that increasingly popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic may carry extra risks for people who need surgery.
The drugs slow the release of food and liquid from the stomach, making patients feel fuller for longer and helping many shed excess pounds. But this same mechanism may increase the risk of rare surgical complication called “aspiration,” where the contents of the stomach enter the lungs.
Patients normally fast before surgical procedures to reduce the chance of them inhaling any food or liquid from their gut while under anesthetic. But those on certain weight-loss and diabetes medications may still have leftovers in their system after a standard pre-surgical fast, according to an alert from the U.K.’s Medicines...